The Darkest Void
by Lord Mendasuit
Summary: Darkness brings more darkness. She was a failure of a mage, incapable of casting even the simplest spells. So of course, she had to go ahead and summon the single most talented mage of his generation as a familiar. Rewrite in progress. Fanart to use as a cover would be much appreciated.
1. A Violent Summon

**Author's Note:**

The dreaded rewrite cometh!

So, since I obviously couldn't find inspiration to write chapter 29, I decided I'd go back to the root of the issue and rewrite everything in an effort to get my groove going again. Believe me, I've actually tried many, many times before, but I can't seem to manage to sit down and put in a few thousand words. Hopefully, re-reading and rewriting everything might help me get my mind back to where it should be.

I will not apologize over the delay of Chapter 29. Because frankly, I'm an asshole and I delight in other people's suffering. If I were saying that I was sorry, I'd be lying.

This venture is also helped by my total lack of anything resembling success trying to write something else, too.

If anyone were to be willing to make fanart for me, I'd much appreciate it, because my artistic talent, whether it be in the practical or the literary arts, is null.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 1: You're totally cramping my style

It was a mostly normal and rather boring day, that much was certain. Absolutely nothing interesting had happened. For most people, this would not be a concern. For a certain ex-teacher, however, it was a rather worrying concept. His days were not this peaceful. Most of the time, anyway. Still, he decided he might as well enjoy it while it lasted. Everyone knew that.

Chachamaru shared his sentiments. He'd sent her home earlier, told her that she was free to do as she pleased, because they both knew that Negi would not be tired when he got home. Sometimes, he wondered when his robotic partner had decided that the line between secretary and servant had blurred to this point. Regardless, he didn't dwell on it for long. She had found happiness, and, to an extent, so had he. He found his happiness in hers. The guilt that sometimes gnawed at the back of his mind was never present during those times.

Call him weak. He knew he was. He didn't care. Neither did the source of his weakness and strength, apparently.

Still, he looked at a picture framed and hanging against the wall of his office. Her face was as youthful, filled with energy and joy, as he remembered it being. She had truly been one of a kind. So much time had passed, yet so little. His eyes dwelt perhaps a second too long, and a smile drew itself on his face. He imagined the scolding she'd give him about it.

She'd probably call him a dumbass, tell him to stop worrying, man up and go through life with a smile. And to an extent, he did. He faced his days with a smile, and with his friends by his side. She'd approve of that, because he remembered her being angry when he tried to do everything on his own. He tried to suppress the voice that told him he still had the tendency to at least try, but hey, at least he recognized when he was overwhelmed these days. The fact that he'd practically begged Chachamaru to continue her job as his assistant after giving her just two days off proved it.

He couldn't say he was unused to paperwork. As a teacher, paperwork was plentiful. The problem was that no warnings were given that managing the International Solar System Development Agency would be such a hell of it. These days, he was glad for Evangeline's resort being available. Otherwise, he might have become a slouch. Kotaro had been dangerously close to kicking his ass the last time they'd gone at it, to the point that Negi had to use every ounce of his speed to win. Being forced to depend on the Perpetual Lightning Form to win that fight had been kind of humiliating.

Up until the moment that Kotaro pointed out that not only had he actually created the technique, it was only that and it was as such fair to use in a fight. Kotaro always had a way to punch his funk away. Most times, anyway.

Those that he couldn't punch away... Wounds that had never quite scarred, that continued bleeding to this day... those couldn't quite be ignored.

Still, he couldn't remain dwelling in the past for too long. Chachamaru certainly expected him at home soon, in any case. He ignored his cellphone ringing. If it were anything important, he'd be contacted through telepathy anyway. It was probably something that would require his attention soon, in either case. However, he had to admit that he was bored and didn't exactly want to deal with whatever it was at the moment.

Another teaching that had needed to be punched into that thick skull he called his. Rest is important. No matter how indestructible you might be, if you go insane due to stress, you'll only make everyone's lives that much harder. So he closed the drawer that was open, absent mindedly locked it, poked it to activate the magical security measures, and stood up to leave.

He hadn't quite expected the green portal where his door had once been. He blinked. He didn't know what it was. Regardless, he knew very few ways to get through his office's security, and most of these were only possible because of the sheer, raw power he possessed. Others involved his ministrae's artifacts. One in particular, came to mind, one that had been impressively useful in his quest to create the ISSDA in the first place. Ayaka had been a very useful, her artifact allowing her to bypass any and all security measures and meet with whoever she wanted to meet, regardless of prior appointments or circumstances.

Even if the person didn't wish to respond to the message, after a while it would simply force you to. The Artifact induced a Geass in the target. He didn't know what effect it had on magically potent beings, but since he had all of the magically potent rulers on his side to begin with (since the survival of the Magic World was in their best interests), they'd never had to use it. Although it was the first time he was on the receiving end.

He was a magically potent being. He wasn't certain if it'd work the same way on him. Regardless, he didn't think things through too many times. Or any, at all. If Ayaka was using her artifact to meet with him, it had to be damned important.

Only when it sucked him in did he hear that little voice that sounded like Evangeline calling him an idiot. It even called him Boya, despite Evangeline only using that when she was playfully berating him instead of genuinely doing so. And oddly enough, Rakan's voice congratulating him on learning the ways of the idiot and wandering into something without thinking it forty six times over. But by then, he was pretty damn busy following the light in the darkness...

Surprisingly, perhaps most of all to myself, he could not hear the narrator and the writer discussing whether or not this was an appropriate enough start for the story.

* * *

Our other protagonist's day was marginally less boring, and only because she did not, in fact, have to authorize the newest delivery of the toilet paper that supplied an immense tower's bathrooms. Alas, she knew not what modern toilet paper is, and cannot compare to the luxury that is wiping your ass with something that does not leave you butthurt. I wonder, sometimes, if certain people suffer from this, as well. But I digress, because talking about other people's asses is all well and good provided they're fictional, and the people I am talking about are most decidedly not fictional.

ARGH, focus, narrator, focus! Need Focusin!

"Congratulations, everyone, for making it to your second year!" Louise wanted to ignore the rather plump elderly woman that spoke. She really did. She was far too upbeat for the early hours. Louise had been terribly nervous, and incapable of getting a proper night's sleep. This left her somewhat grumpy, but even so, she knew one fact that she could never forget.

Since her magic sucked, her academical scores had to remain the best in the class, otherwise, she'd fail entirely. She had, in every piece of theory, the best grades ever recorded in the entire... well, she had the best grades ever recorded in theory. In practice, she had the worst. Even pathetic mages could get weak spells off. Hers?

Hers just went boom. And while tremendously useful in certain circumstances, including chastising members of the male sex, since her explosions were harmless if painful, it was still humiliating that a noble of her stature couldn't get off the simplest spell.

"From this year onwards, I will be teaching in this academy, and I am quite glad to have you all in my class." This time the woman was a fair bit calmer, which Louise could be thankful for. Her ears were kind of sensitive that morning. It didn't help that the nightmare she'd gotten for the five minutes she'd managed to sleep for had left her with a headache and the urge to murder everything that annoyed her. Except that one was common. It was just more potent that morning. "My name is Chevreuse, my attribute is Earth."

If Louise had to guess, she'd say that the woman was a line class mage, or a very low level Triangle. Most of the teachers in the school were lines. The more powerful mages generally rose ranks in the nobility fast enough that they would never bother with the school.

"My runic name is Chevreuse the Red Clay."

Louise was mildly interested in how she'd attained the name. Because a runic name was actually kind of serious business, and it generally corresponded to the kind of mage you were. For example, her mother's own runic name was based on her personal and most powerful spell. Though, mostly, Louise wondered how someone named 'Red Clay' would wear purple.

Yep, the aged teacher who had just given her boring introduction had a, frankly, ridiculous purple robe and wizard hat combo. It's an insult to the dignity of magic. Unless it's Magicka and you're blowing things up, at which point it's a nod to the spirit of mages everywhere. The teacher's eyes scanned through the crowd, wondering why there was one student that seemed to be furiously taking notes of her introduction, while most people looked, as she expected them to, bored.

She wisely chose to ignore the closeness between a redhead and a silver haired boy. Evidently, she'd been told of that particular redhead's antics and the fact that she actually had permission to be a flirt. It was... weird, but just that. So she went on with the explanation of her role and task.

Louise was too engrossed in her book to particularly care. More important studies had her attention. She was currently trying to reduce a particularly fat book into a more manageable handbook she could rapidly study from, so that it was more convenient for her. Simple concepts were easily remembered, whilst long and drawn out explanations were rather hard to reproduce verbatim.

"Now, can anyone tell me which are the four main elements?" The pinkette nearly scoffed at this. Anyone could. Even commoners! Normally, she'd have droned the answer, and simply continued reading. She probably wouldn't even have to pay attention... but that morning she wasn't feeling particularly up to the task of multitasking. So she let it pass. Participating in these pointless quizzes helped not her grades.

Louise would always wonder how that blonde fop had managed to obtain a rose as a wand, but he raised it and almost let off bishie sparkles. Did he really think he was that pretty? She couldn't deny that he was mildly attractive, but that was at best. She never understood her peers in their adoration for his looks. Blonds really didn't do it for her.

Mostly, anyway.

"The four elements are fire, water, wind and Earth!" He'd emphasized the last. "Oh, what a coincidence! Just like yours, my element is Earth! My name is Guiche de Gramont, runic name Guiche The Bronze. Please, keep it in mind!"

Clearly, he needed a lesson in how to not overly dramatize everything he did, but Louise was not fit to give it. Unless it involved exploding him. Again, her headache made the urge hard to resist entirely. What annoyed her was not the exaggerated motions he'd utilized, or the unnecessary introduction. It was...

Sucking up to the teachers. The blonde girl next to the fop seemed vaguely annoyed by his overly dramatic gestures. Louise couldn't care less either way.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Gramont." Though she sounded almost like she wanted to suck up to Guiche. Maybe a lesser noble that just had more talent than average wanting a name for herself through help of a high name family?

Guiche's family didn't have such a high standing, or did it..?

Regardless, for some reason she frowned at the idea of a teacher pandering to certain students more than the others. She just didn't find the idea particularly palatable, and although she'd been mostly on the benefitted side of the equation, it had been due to her hard work at keeping her grades up enough that her abysmal practical grades couldn't force her to drop out.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose and willed the headache away, wishing she could magically make it go. As all the matters involving magic, it only worsened.

* * *

Old Osmond got bitch-slapped by Longueville. He wasn't entirely certain how the secretary had managed to do it from across the room, but he was certain he didn't want to provoke her further by asking. After all, his poor, old ribs probably wouldn't survive another beating like that.

At least he'd gotten to see for himself that white thong. Black definitely suited her better...

He still thought he ought to thank Miss Valliere for the interruption, even if she'd probably destroyed a desk... and a teacher.

During the day, despite the headache subsiding slightly, at least enough that Louise could multitask properly, Louise's mind had begun to wander. It wandered to an specific event, in truth. And the nervousness still plagued her. Why wouldn't it?

Also, at some point, she'd realized she needed to buy several new pairs of socks. Or find a way to protect the two she still had. Anti magic enchantments weren't cheapt, but surely her parents would understand that it would only save them further money in the long run, right?

However, even if she assured herself that everything would go right, because she'd do everything the right way, she made her hopes explode along with the teacher's desk. But then she stood up, chin high again.

It was, after all, only a little miscalculation. A small mistake. Nothing cripplingly wrong with her magic. It wasn't like she was a colossal failure that couldn't do anything but explosions.

"Even today your success rate is still zero percent!" Guiche screamed at the top of his lungs, as he emerged from behind the desk he'd hidden under.

"Louise the Zero!" snapped the stupid dark skinned, Germanian, curvaceous, strangely attractive boob monster...

The scolding wasn't even the worst part, no. The thing that stung the most was that she wasn't the one being blamed for the explosion. She wasn't being blamed because it was considered the Teacher's fault for allowing her to perform magic, as if she were a dangerous monster that could only bring destruction! It made her blood boil, and it made her want to bitch slap both herself and whoever was at range.

Then again, she couldn't argue with the evidence. Even if she claimed it was only a small mistake, she only got weird looks and Old Osmond laughing like a jackass. He was actually a jackass, but that's beside the point, because it still meant that they didn't think she could ever be a mage and were just humoring her to get in her family's good side. it angered her to no end. But she knew what she needed to prove them wrong.

All she needed was a powerful, beautiful, strong and magnificent familiar! She'd show them! She wouldn't fail!

It would be her familiar, the strongest, most beautiful and magnificent being summoned EVER!

* * *

"Bad feeling." was all that Louise remembered from the conversation that she'd had one thousand times. It was odd for that particular girl to openly state her thoughts. It had to be a strong feeling to provoke her to speak...

She slapped herself. What could that girl know? She didn't know anything. Then again, it was the first time that she'd responded when the boob monster asked what she thought about the coming spring ritual. And when she'd said it, the bluenette had been staring straight at Louise. Something about her had inspired the bad feeling, and Louise couldn't shake off the thought of it. What... what if everything went wrong... what if everything went spectacularly wrong?

But... No. No. No! She. Would. Not. Fail.

* * *

Busy rinsing herself off the day's grime, a lone redhead mused. "A bad feeling..." she ignored the water droplets running down her neck and into her plentiful bosom. "I wonder why." She hadn't even bothered dismissing the second year boy that was drooling on her carpet. She would allow him to rest for a while before sending him to his room. She couldn't shake her friend's prediction.

She herself was also expecting something from the spring summoning ritual. And her expectations for herself aren't what I'm talking about. Her petite friend had merely given more credence to the feeling she herself had. The anticipation...

... She was truly anxious to see what the Zero managed to summon.

* * *

Meanwhile, in her own room, Louise cursed herself for boasting as she buried her head on her pillow. If she'd just shut up, then she wouldn't be humiliated...

_"Answer my call!"_

The darkness is vast and eternal. The darkness is the all consuming creator. From darkness everything came, and to darkness everything went. It was the cycle of existence and there was nothing about it.

The darkness of the human heart is something just as vast and infinite. And he knew it well. He knew the darkness of the human heart as well as one could claim to know oneself, because of what his particularities, he was acquainted with it more than anyone else would ever be. Still, it felt odd to interact with darkness that was not his own. Even the darkness of the universe was something he was used to, as he needed to manipulate it to cast spells of the element. However, he hadn't quite felt something like this.

This tug at the darkness of his own heart. This string that connected him to some other source of darkness. Pure, unadulterated, and made of the concentrated sorrow, anger and pain of an innocent. Sometime ago, he had been an innocent as well. This darkness was much like his own, if different. But it was darkness, nonetheless.

Darkness that he felt drawn to. The tiny light ball that had spoken was flying at incredible speeds, but he was easily keeping up. After all, being one with darkness, he was everywhere and nowhere in a plane of darkness. He existed everywhere because the darkness was him and he was the darkness. It was, again, a strange experience.

A brief flash of green and what would have been an imposing building, hadn't the sight been given from miles above, were the only confirmation he had that he'd followed the light correctly. He would have smiled, at getting that odd sensation of being omnipresent removed from his system. However, he had a bit of trouble. So far, he'd been okay. Even if he had to get used to existing everywhere at once, he couldn't have been prepared to have that feeling suddenly ripped from him.

Now was the time when he actually felt somewhat dizzy from losing it. He would have groaned, but his mouth wasn't working... if he even had one.

* * *

Guiche really had to leave the theatrics for when he was in private. By the look on the teacher's face, Colbert agreed. His verbal putdown had been the most interesting thing Louise had heard all morning. Clearly, one does not fuck with Jean Colbert, because Jean Colbert will fuck with you, and for being a forty year old or so man, he knew how to put down a teenager and strike where it hurt.

Either that or Guiche's reaction to the giant mole thing that came out of the ground. She had to admit, the blond fop was proving uncharacteristically entertaining that day. She pointedly ignored Colbert's praise for Kirche's summoned salamander. Because, evidently, it wasn't the teacher's fault that the boob monster could work her charms in any situation. Stupid bouncy goodness!

"It's a result that fits my runic name, Kirche The Ardent perfectly!" Though she seemed way too pleased with her summon, she didn't seem to be bragging about it so much as she was simply stating how proud she was of her summoned creature. She simply liked her familiar.

Louise jumped to mentally accusing her of bragging, though. It's what happens when you hate that person for their curiously attractive, round, firm brea- stop that, bad thought! Get back to writing mode, brain! Save porn for later! Actually, no, I can write and watch porn at the same time. I can multitask!

"Is that everyone?" Asked Colbert, the teacher, as he scanned the class. He didn't truly have to, as he assumed that students would be loathe to leave the clearing without their familiars. He just wanted to get a second look at what had been summoned. And, by the way, he still found that dragon to be mighty impressive.

"Not yet." Kirche smirked evilly. "Miss Valliere still hasn't summoned her familiar." Oh, if she hadn't souned like a bitch, Louise might've been inclined to believe that Zerbst was actually not trying to do this to annoy Louise. Again, the damnable Germanian sought to ruin Louise's good mood!

Of course she'd be put on the center of attention right after that. The murmurs and whispers regarding her 'runic' name were starting to get on her nerves about the third repeat through. She wasn't about to fail.

"After what you said yesterday, I'm sure you'll summon something more impressive than me!" Kirche sounded way too condescending with that one. Unknown to Louise, she was actually hopeful that the pinkette would manage to summon something impressive enough that she'd make the name calling stop. It wasn't funny the 2593926th time. Maybe she'd even get them to make up a new nickname or something... Maybe Louise the Wormtongue? It would be hilarious if she did summon a worm, considering she'd used the insult once or twice in regards to the Germanian herself.

"Of course!" Louise nearly shouted, thinking that, for a second, she'd channeled a man by the name of Raul Julia although she was confused as to why. She did not know who Raul Julia was, nor did she know why Raul Julia is awesome. Because to him, it was the last movie he worked on, but to her, it was just a slow week day.

"Please..." A soft murmur, something she'd never say out loud, a Valliere did NOT ask for things, a Valliere demanded them, she just wasn't in a position to do so right now. She felt the energy gather. She felt it pool. She enhanced it. She poured everything she had. She had to dig into the depths of her willpower, and bring everything out. Her inner strength. She found it, and pulled all of it out. She did not notice the circle, once pink underneath her, darken into a deep red. "My servant who is in some place of the confines of the universe!" She ignored the further questioning of her abilities and the snickers. She knew her chant was uncommon. Because her familiar would be uncommon, no, unique. Her familiar would be the familiar to end all familiars! The best familiar ever summoned! "The sacred, beautiful and above all else powerful familiar..!"

It would be a holy spirit unlike no other, beautiful enough to make the Zerbst green with envy, and powerful enough to match a mage of her caliber!

Kirche didn't miss the way her blue haired companion's eyes seemed to widen the slightest fraction, or how she'd dropped the staring-into-the-book thing in favor of staring at the girl shouting the odd incantation. Because her own bad feelings had intensified. She knew something was wrong. Something felt wrong. Louise wanted a powerful familiar...

"I summon you from my heart, I ask you to answer my call!"

Louise's hand drew a circle with her wand in the air, taking care to make it as perfect as her pulse would allow. Then, she punched her wand through, and the circle she'd drawn took transparent form, only to crash like glass, as did the circle that had appeared and widened considerably under her. The ground was eaten away by the ever expanding red lines, that grew closer and closer to black by the second. Then they vanished, and the grass was back where it'd been before.

A spark left the tip of her wand. It was a spark of darkness. It was the only thing that Louise could call it. All of a sudden, everything felt wrong. She feared her spell had failed. She feared that everything she'd worked for, every scrap of power she'd poured into the spell, had been in vain. The spark fadded, although the feeling of wrongness did not.

The sound of a thunderclap, so close, nearly made her eardrums burst, and she was violently thrown off her feet when the usual result of her magic took place. There was a dustcloud formed from the explosion. Louise felt her butt hit the floor and she was certain she'd been thrown at least a few meters away, because the epicenter of the explosion was still shrouded in moving dust. There was a second, distant thunderclap, and a sound like lightning hitting the ground.

Seconds later, the complaints about her failure began, along groans of pain for those who'd been scared enough to try to jump away or fallen facefirst. They'd been swept away by the explosion, and it had to have been painful. Louise had been at the center of it herself, so she understood it.

Oddly enough, both Kirche and her silent companion appeared to be standing without too much difficulty, but Louise was too afraid of failure right now to notice that. The pinkette stood back up and walked forward, braving the cloud of dust.

Guiche de Gramont did not consider himself a man who was truly hard to impress. In fact, it was fairly easy to impress him, all things considered. However, this summoning took the cake, as it had been possibly the most violent example of the ritual ever. Heck, she had probably killed whatever she had summoned. Guiche didn't feel sorry for whatever poor creature it'd been, though. He was too busy picking up his jaw, as both he and the one he'd actually dived behind, Montmorency (entirely so she fell on him and the pain she'd had upon hitting the ground was reduced, it was not because her bottom landed squarely in his lap, no sir!), stared at the new arrival.

It was not something that was seen every day.

The stranger was tall... although not enough to be a terrible difference. He was probably a fully grown adult man, or very close to. His hair was a shade of red dissimilar from Kirche's, and he wore strange clothing that he assumed was of commoner make, even though from a preliminary glance he was forced to admit that the make was probably beyond most clothing he'd seen, and the fabric was very much unlike what he knew. A foreigner, then, since it was clear that he was somewhat confused as to his whereabouts.

A commoner that the Zero had hired to make it seem as if she'd summoned something?

"What a violent summon..."

Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to talk in an odd, unintelligible language, or how he seemed to be that much more than the naked eye could see, but Guiche felt the comment about commoners die in his throat. No, it had to be the aura of power the man had around himself. Or the fact that he had come out unscathed from being blown right the hell up by the Zero.

"A... A human?"

"Is it a commoner?"

"No doubt, it's a commoner."

"Yep, no matter how you look at it..."

Guiche almost laughed when whatever had been possessing him dispelled with his classmates' dismissal.

The man frowned for a minute, he seemed pensive, thinking to himself about something unfathomable. What they did not know, was that the man was identifying their language. "Where am I?" Now that one had been perfectly understandable... if a bit accented.

Louise didn't much care. "Is t-this my sacred, beautiful and above all else, powerful familiar?" Commoners were commoners, and she wouldn't dignify him with an answer. For the moment, anyway. Because her sheer surprise had dulled her manners, and she would not reply. Meanwhile, the man in front of her looked confused at her words. This was so not going well.

"Who are you?" She didn't have good manners, it seemed, or couldn't understand or hear him. Either way, he was a perfectly groomed English Gentleman and therefore, he'd actually answer. He'd been taught to treat ladies nicely.

"My name is Negi Springfield." He replied. "Who are You?"

She continued to ignore his question. "Where are you from, commoner?"

He frowned, or rather, smiled the smile that concealed a frown, at being ignored again, while still looking down on the pink thing that wasn't trying to get up. "Wales." he replied on reflex. "Where am I?" He made an attempt at ignoring how she'd called him. He wouls be unfailingly polite, as he needed the answers and being gung ho was simply not his style. A gentleman's style was very important to said gentleman.

"Oh my! This does match up with your declaration!" It sounded like an insult, but had anyone been listening and been familiar with Kirche, they'd have realized there wasn't an ounce of sarcasm in her voice. She had a faint blush on her face and a perverted smirk, all that Louise needed to know that she'd have to pry her off her familiar with a crowbar, if she'd seen it. She only wished those had been invented at some point... "This commoner? No... can't be... too refined..." The camera cuts away before her hands reach her chest, and only her perverted giggle is heard, muffled as it was. I'm totally not going to jeopardize my ability to continue posting here.

He focused on Louise, and the pinkette's knees grew weak, both from shock and a sensation she couldn't quite place. She blushed in clear embarrassment, and fell on her butt yet again. Her poor rear had taken quite the abuse that day, and it'd probably bother her later. He offered her a hand, clearly looking apologetic at having surprised her, and it was even worse when she squeaked, which made her even further indignant.

"It's only a little mistake!" Louise cried, scrambling back to her feet and ignoring the hand that had been extended her way. She wouldn't give that commoner the benefit of touching someone of her position, even if he was impossibly handsome!

"As expected of Louise the Zero!"

"Always surpassing our expectations!"

Negi smiled at her, trying his best to look as mellow as Takamichi did, the insulting nature of the comments flying right over his head. He didn't even know what the hell was going on, yet. So far, he'd managed to gather the information that she'd summoned him. That much was clear. Although he wasn't certain about the nature of the summons, according to what Zazie had explained, so long as you had the power, you could potentially summon anything that can be classified as a 'demon'. Even Zazie herself could be summoned at a moment's notice, if someone could muster enough power to reach high enough in the demonic hierarchy.

Demons were often summoned to accomplish tasks that mortal mages cannot do on their own. Demons are mercenaries, in a sense, whose only price is whatever you're willing to give them. If it is good enough and they accept, then they do it. If it isn't, then they cancel the summons and go home. So long as it wasn't morally reprehensible, a random task for someone else was a welcome break from routine.

He did find it odd that he could be summoned just like that, since as far as he knew he was pretty high ranked, as demonkind go, granted he'd willingly walked into the portal... Why were they laughing, anyway?

"Mr. Colbert, please allow me to try again!" The girl shouted at the oddly unmoving teacher. Negi stared at the staff he was clutching. It'd only been moved a fraction of an inch, and it'd dug up the ground on where it'd been moved. The teacher had been close to the center of the explosion, but he was totally unharmed. Not to mention, the man had narrowed his eyes at him, examining him.

"I can't do that!" Jean Colbert spoke, the spirit of the flames of youth possessing him and gifting him the passion of a young man.

"Why not!" Louise screamed, clearly exasperated at her situation. Her, a daughter of the Valliere family, summoning of a commoner was an insult to her name!

"This ceremony is a sacred ritual that dictates the life of a mage!" he explained, oddly passionately. "Asking to repeat it is to dishonor the entire ordeal, nevermind allowing it!" he finished, his eyes only slightly narrowed.

Louise, still fuming, sighed dejectedly.

"Wether you approve or not, it has been decided that he is your familiar." That one made Negi stop for a second. A familiar? Those kinds of contracts lasted for the entirety of the mage's lifespan! That was not good.

Simply walking into such a contract was a very stupid decision, it was indeed a very important moment in the life of a mage... He'd chosen his own familiar after careful consideration (or rather, after Chamo had suggested it, but that was beside the point) and as a gentleman, it was his task to have this man reconsider. Because, clearly, the man couldn't possibly be entirely sane.

"Excuse me, choosing a familiar is a very important matter." Negi said, trying not to be too intrusive. "While I do agree that it's a sacred ritual, shouldn't she be allowed to try again if she doesn't like the result? She's gonna be stuck with me for a long time, after all..." what he didn't say, was that that long time would be the rest of her life. He was mildly hopeful that the spell would reverse once he was dismissed and he'd be back on the ISSDA's headquarters. The man chose to ignore him, further adding to Negi's annoyance level. He was a gentleman, but even his patience had its limits. They were still far from reaching them, though.

"I've never heard of anyone with a commoner as a familiar!" Louise seemed to still be hopeful about Colbert reconsidering, though she still glared at the next round of laughter. It was clearly getting on her nerves.

"Be it a commoner or anything else, I don't accept exceptions!" Colbert finished, slamming his staff against the ground to shut everyone up. "Bind the familiar with the contract." He ordered, a tone of finality that broke for no argument.

Negi gulped. He'd gone and gotten himself into more trouble like a moron. Both he and Louise seemed to react similarly, though her discomfort had been much more obvious. "Eh..? With this..?" Okay, that would get annoying after a while. Not the name calling, the poking with the wand. Seriously, that thing is pointy!

"Hurry." the balding teacher ordered. "Or I will have to expel you." That prompted another wave of taunts and laughter that went ignored. Oddly enough, they were only male voices this time...

She turned to him and reluctantly came close to him. "You should be grateful. Normally, no commoner would receive this from a noble in their entire life!" She said, noticeably angry. She raised her wand and seemed to fall into chanting mode, clearly concentrating yet again. Negi felt the power being gathered, and he cursed his fate.

He could get out. He could incapacitate everyone in the clearing in less than a few seconds. Had he been a knave, he would have. His mind warred. He had been raised to be the perfect gentleman, and robbing a young lady of the chance to accomplish a ritual that was considered sacred by some was NOT a gentlemanly thing to do. Clearly, he only had Nekane to blame because she'd done too good a job raising him to be a nice, polite and kind young man.

"My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc De La Valliere! Pentagon of the five elemental powers, grant your blessing upon this creature, and bind it as my familiar!"

Getting a wand swung into his face wasn't a new occurrence for Negi. Generally, they proceeded to unleash some sort of spell, most of the time. The last time he'd visited the younger classes in Ariadne he'd almost gotten his face blown up by an overenthusiastic first year student. But that being directly followed by a kiss, however, was. Generally, people didn't try to make out with him directly after blowing up. Okay, maybe some did.

When Louise pulled back, they were both pink in the face, although she was significantly more so.

While to her it'd probably been her first kiss, to him it was a slow Tuesday at the office. My god I just repeated this joke!

"It seems you've completed the contract with your familiar."

There was an odd stinging sensation running through Negi's arm, soon it became a burning pain that coated his left fist. He stared at it bemusedly. Was that normal? He hadn't marked Chamo... Maybe he was being branded so he'd be recognized as hers. Still, he should probably slap himself. Wait a minute. Why was he being so calm about the whole deal? Maybe it was just the fact that his hand was f*cking burning and he was thus more concentrated on the pain than much else. He bit back the need to scream.

"Huh?"

"It'll be over soon. You are getting the runes of a familiar engraved." Louise explained, still looking everywhere but at him. He noticed Colbert's eyes widening when the man spent a second staring at the newfound runes in his hand. However, his eyes focused once again on Louise and the rather displeased frown on her face.

So she hadn't wanted him as a familiar, and he, if he were to be honest, didn't want to be her familiar either. A wonderful partnership. He'd have to suck it up.

"That was certainly painful." He said, frowning slightly... Meaning his smile hadn't even faltered a bit.

Once the rest was done (apparently, they were all too giddy about fraternizing with their familiars to fly off right away), Louise finally allowed herself to relax and let the gravity of her situation sink in. It just wasn't salvageable at all. She'd summoned a commoner in the middle of class and brought shame to her name. At least it couldn't go any worse, right?

She wondered if thinking the words had the same effect as saying them. That tended to jinx her almost instantly. And once she turned around again to face her familiar, she found him chatting rather amicably with Kirche. The redhead rapidly turned around to change target to Louise. She didn't even notice the vein throbbing in the latter's forehead, a clear sign of anger.

Frikkin' Boob Monster trying to steal her familiar.

"Congratulations, Louise, you've summoned a mar~velous familiar!" her perverted giggle further drove up the pinkette's nerves. Her familiar had no right to be so calm and collected when talking to women other than herself!

Wait, calm and collected? In fact, his sight hadn't lowered to Kirche's cleavage even once, although the Germanian seemed mildly offended by that, and was probably intending to fix that issue at once. At least that was the image given, seeing as she seemed to be tugging at and lowering the line of her cleavage. It still failed to work spectacularly.

"Kirche, you..."

She smiled, the most perverted smile so far. "I don't intend to do anything..." An obvious lie. "For now." Okay, that much is true. "I'll come later to greet you formally some other time. See you!" Insert heart emoticon here.

"See you later, Ms. Zerbst!" Negi said, waving as Kirche levitated away. "Man, flying like that seems really convenient." he said, not even blushing at the sight of Kirche's rather racy undergarments. Still tame in comparison to what he had become used to. But really, he had to learn to fly under his own power. Spending nine years behind a desk and all of his battles as a sentient bolt of lightning hadn't reminded him of that little fact.

"We're going back too." Louise said.

"I kind of need you to explain a few things to me." Negi said, trying not to sound too ignorant of their customs. He was only used to the kind of magic he was taught (and a bit of eastern magic he'd seen used), so learning something new was interesting. As much as teaching someone something new, or at the very least, close enough that the comparisson was pointless.

* * *

She wasn't the most pleasant company he'd ever had, that was for sure. Although he wouldn't ever say so to her face, as he was a gentleman, he really thought she could relax for a minute. The hypocrisy of that statement failed to hit him.

"Another world?" She seemed fairly disbelieving of his tale. Well, he would be, too.

"Yes. Earth." He explained, seeming as patient as ever with her overly demanding attitude. Again, he'd dealt with worse. "So, I assume ending this contract is not easy."

"One of us has to die." Louise explained, sighing as they continued walking. She'd wanted to fly, but for obvious reasons, she'd been denied the chance. Negi couldn't fathom why, however, although the walk across the forest was nice.

It clearly wasn't going to be him who would die. So he just smiled and faced her once again. "Well, about the summoning..."

Louise sighed. "You're a commoner, so I guess I can explain." She took it in stride, apparently she was very well versed into the material that she was talking about. "The summoning determines which type of magic a person will use. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and the lost element of 'Void'." Negi frowned slightly. They used far less elements than he did, apparently. Perhaps they qualified more complex elements than the basic ones as composites? It was an interesting idea, even if he could form Ice, Lightning, Darkness and Light untainted by the other elements. "All magic is intimately related to life." Or the taking of it.

But he didn't want to correct her on that one. No need for an idealistic student to be exposed to the harsher truths of the world, not yet, anyway. He didn't want anyone to have to suffer through what he'd had to. Not without a damn good reason.

"And so, magic users are naturally all..." She seemed to pause for dramatic effect. "Nobles!"

He blinked. What kind of culture had he been summoned to that placed mages as the nobility? Admittedly, it was normal for mages to be mild bigots regarding mundanes (although Negi himself could prove them all wrong by simply telling his ministrae to kick the Magic World's collective rear ends), but going to those lengths seemed a bit extreme.

Negi did not take kindly to bigotry. The magical community was guilty of it, as was the mundane society, however, he still couldn't help but note that she didn't seem to have any malice in her when she made the distinction between nobles and commoners. To her, it was just a fact of life that simply was. Not something of novelty. That didn't mean he liked it. But this was another culture. Just as he wouldn't accept people telling him how he should live, he would not tell others how to live... Unless, of course, the right reasons were given.

He noticed that the building she'd been leading him through was a very old fashioned place. All wood and stone. Not a single electrical socket in sight. The technology level of this world was far lower than Earth's, particularly after the advent of Magitek. He did have to admit, however, that her room was exquisitely decorated.

It was only after she'd began undressing that he'd realized something very important. "Um... You bound me to a contract, but you haven't given me a task yet." He was fearing the worst. Summoned demons were often given menial tasks. Although summoning something as powerful as himself for such a thing was... overkill.

"Isn't it obvious? You're my familiar. That means that whatever I order you to do, you should obey like a good dog."

Going from the Director of the ISSDA to familiar was kind of a sharp drop. Being given the same name as he'd often used to annoy Kotaro was worse. His smile faltered the slightest bit.

"Having said that, go wash these for me, okay? Today was tiring."

It was at that moment that Negi began cursing his inability to simply say 'No', as with his cursed luck he set Louise's clothes and undergarments in a small pile. He didn't know where to go, after all, so he guessed he'd ask her next morning. For the moment, he was blessing the experience he'd had. Had this happened a mere nine years ago, he'd been reduced to a flustered mess by the mere presence of the underwear in close proximity to his face. As it was, her petite, under developed body was far away from being capable of flustering him by mere proximity.

So he decided to wait until next morning and instead get himself familiarized with the castle-like dormitory's layout. When she was sleeping, he had to admit she was sorta cute, if in a childish way. People who were at peace often did look better than when they were tense. And it seemed she was having a nice dream, so he just let her sleep.

She had much more tame taste in panties than most of his, ahem, companions, but she still had even less of a nudity taboo than them, it seemed... Well, some of them, anyway. He was entirely certain that Haruna would've had a field day in teaching her the most over the top way to seduce males with her body as it was.

He was kind of on auto pilot as he walked, because he was busier taking in the sights of the dormitory.

"I'm really good preparing Souffle!" Most decidedly the voice of a young female.

"I would love to try it!" A suave, smooth voice replied. Maybe it was just someone trying to be smooth and suave. Most definitely that. Lovers, maybe? Ignoring them both, Negi shoved his hands into his pockets and went about on the most honest imitation of Takamichi he could manage. Because Negi had, through out all of his life, always thought that Takamichi was really cool. Even when he could face Takamichi face to face and come out winning nine times out of ten, he had always thought Takamichi looked cooler than him.

Besides, he didn't have anything else to do with his hands.

"Really?" she sounded hopeful. Overly so.

"Of course, Katie! I cannot tell a lie to your eyes!" If one squinted, the bishie sparkles around the blonde boy's face were almost visible. Negi smiled and walked past them. It was nice to see two people who weren't stuck in a very difficult relationship for a change. Even if it was a bit exaggerated. Ah, to be young and in love... To be young and act like an old man...

"Lord Guiche..!" Okay, that was a bit of an overreaction. The blond boy seemed to be trying too hard, however, and Negi would've smacked him for the overly sappy line. Clearly, he was an amateur.

"There exist no lies in my feelings for you!" Too sappy. "Hey, it's the commoner the Zero summoned." He said, possibly because he hadn't a followup even sappier than that one. Negi hadn't exactly been trying to pass by stealthily, after all. "Aren't you?" Guiche asked, mildly uncertain. In the dimly lit hallway, it wasn't all that easy to tell, even if Negi stuck out like a sore thumb during the day.

"Oh, today was the ceremony, right? It's very important news, even amongst the first years!" The girl commented.

Negi just smiled and nodded his head. "Yes. Now, if you will excuse me..."

Nothing more of note happened that evening. Except Negi getting mildly lost and somehow coming across Ryoga Hibiki. Next reports place him somewhere in the same solar system as Namek. As it was, he decided that he'd better try to get himself acquainted with this new world, and then he'd work on trying to get back home.

There was, after all, much to do, even if currently, time wasn't of the essence, and even if he had been around, trying his best to get a mental image of the place he was in, he still couldn't properly guide himself around. A chance to get fresh air would be much appreciated, nonetheless.

* * *

**Omake: **Because I needed to show that Louise could've gotten a much more overpowered summon!

Louise had asked for a familiar to surpass all others so, of course, she got one that was exactly that. However, she had most decidedly not expected her familiar to break down into thirteen pieces the moment she'd summoned it. Neither had she expected the entity that had seemed by far the most terrifying of the lot of eldritch abominations to remain standing firmly in place.

It seemed to be floating above the ground, it's long, black and crimson cloak billowing even though there was no wind, the chains wrapped around its chest rattling with every bit of movement, clashing against each other. It waved two metallic weapons around, and its head, which was covered in bloodied bandages, only let Louise see one of its eyes. The fact that the eye was perpetually open, as it seemed to be just the organ jammed into the socket, was probably the creepiest parts.

Terrified beyond belief, Louise whimpered as the creature focused on her. She knew not where the knowledge came from, nor did she care. At the moment, all that she cared about was that she was staring at the eye of the Reaper, of the anthropomorphic personification of a metaphysical concept she wasn't entirely acquainted with. And it was staring back.

The Magician didn't go too far. Death caught up easily. The being made of hands could not escape fast enough, and a single, small projectile made of what Louise guessed was brass from its color, pierced through it, gaining its attention. Louise didn't know why she'd been grabbed by the scruff of the neck by her familiar and brought to the ceiling. All things considered, she didn't terribly care, either, for one simple reason.

She was too busy being terrified about it.

The Reaper shot the creature a few more times, until it stopped squirming, and Louise almost gouged her eyes out in the spot, when her familiar began eating the other creature.

The Priestess and the Lovers hadn't gone very far before meeting each other and, as was customary amongst the Major Arcana, they began trying to eat each other.

Louise didn't even bother beginning to complain when her Familiar wrapped a chain around her leg and dragged her off to meet the Arcanas' battleground. She was pleased to note, however, that Death had improved its table manners considerably since the scolding she gave it.

Death took offense at the Water Spirit being something that thought itself beyond Death. Therefore, Death rectified the issue by shooting it.

When that didn't work, Death just shot it some more. Eventually, it began to work.

Kirche shivered. "Remind me to never, ever piss off Louise again." She told Tabitha.

War came.

Death looked not entirely satisfied.

"Okay, you can go, just make it quick." Louise said, groaning.

There was a sound that might've been a squeal of joy coming from the reaper, who shot the sky in seeming celebration...

...Only for a Myriad Arrows to rain on the Albion army.

The Survivors thought this was a natural disaster.

Death shot randomly once again.

There were a couple spheres of purple smoke that descended into the gatherings of soldiers.

Megidolaon shook the flying island.

The giant ass dragon faced forward.

Death levelled its revolver at its face. "I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? To tell you the truth, I've lost count myself." It sounded oddly enough like an overly violent policeman. "Seeing as this is the most powerful handgun ever made, you've gotta ask yourself a question."

The dragon roared.

"Do you feel lucky?" The reaper asked.

The dragon roared, again, and tried to breathe fire into Death's face. Its coat was a little singed.

"Well, do ya, punk?"

The reaper squeezed the trigger.

* * *

Woah. This took far longer than I thought. Still, I'd like to think this is a fair bit better than the original first chapter. To tell the truth, I wasn't all that happy with how that one turned out, and I thought it was fairly weak. At least my standards are a bit higher, I don't know if the quality has improved, to be honest. Because you are supposta be the judge of that. I can't believe it was easier to write 8600 words than it was to write 4300... Do tell if there are any glaring mistakes, though.

I will work on making my way up to chapter 29. With a bit of work, I'll get there within two months. I'll try to improve the quality of every chapter as I go, but again, it's up to you guys to actually judge them.

Also, in a bit of trivia hilarity, this chapter used to be by far the shortest. Now it's one of the longest!

Again, if anyone is willing to make fanart for me, I'd be in your debt. Anything but mah money!


	2. The Idiot Familiar?

**Le Updated Author's Note:**

I am what I am and what I am is a fanfiction writer, bitches!

This chapter I started at 11 AM on the morning of a tuesday in which I should probably be dedicating myself to work, but in which I decided to scratch my belly for a while and do some navel gazing while at it. Also, while at this, I decided that I would use the space I leave at the bottom to answer reviewer concerns instead of the upper Author's Note, because I figure people are getting annoyed at having to scroll down through the responses to concerns they may or may not have. Also, considering most, if not all of these, pertain to reviews prior to the rewrite, they may or may not even apply anymore.

This is just plain easier for everyone. Particularly for me.

For the record, nearly TWO THOUSAND WORDS were spent on answering reviews alone. MY GOD.

So, if it pisses you off that I replied to something that may or may not be valid anymore and with several months of delay... you're welcome to pout and raise a fuzz over it.

Random phrase for the day:

_No me vengan con cuentos chinos. Uno siempre escucha hablar de la lealtad. Uno prende la television y escucha hablar de la lealtad. Uno prende la radio y escucha hablar de la lealtad. Todos hablan de la lealtad, TODOS hablan de la lealtad, ¡y NOSOTROS somos la lealtad!, asi que ¿¡QUE ME VIENEN A HABLAR DE LA LEALTAD!? -El Pity_

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 2: The Idiot Familiar, or The Idiot's Familiar?

It took long enough for Louise to wake up on her own, and truth be told, Negi was wary of waking her up early. After all, whilst he'd avoided angering her as of yet, he still wasn't completely sure if the familiar binding contract included a Geass or not. Personal experience dictated that Chamo was a terrible example, so he ignored it.

Louise took long enough to wake up on her own, and she'd had to wake up on her own because her familiar had been wary of waking her up early. Some part of it was because her familiar did not own a clock and did not know what time it was, and she hadn't actually left instructions to wake her up. Clearly, she wanted to sleep in and he wouldn't bother her. The fact that he was enjoying the peace that the morning's silence, interrupted only by Louise's light breathing and the sound of the wind had very much to do with it.

Ain't I a honest man?

He had no idea how this particular contract worked. He had studied demon binding contract, to some extent. It had been necessary when he'd been a more revenge obsessed individual. For what had been a rather long time, he'd hated demons with a passion and had been looking for a way to specifically destroy them. Studying their contracts and how they interacted with the demons' spirits was something he'd thought could lead him to a way to destroy them permanently, instead of just cancelling their summon and destroying a mere physical body that wouldn't harm the demon in the long run.

There were several ways to enforce a demon's contract, if the demon had accepted it. Sometimes, the demons decided not to do their jobs after all. A mere spell would force the demon, either through pain or mind control, no matter whatever resistance it might have had (as it had technically given up any and all rights to oppose the master when it'd accepted the contract), to perform whatever task the contract stipulates to the best of their ability.

The only other option he knew would work would be killing his master. He wasn't going to die any time soon, and it'd defeat the point to kill himself. Slicing his own hand off to break the contract would be an experiment he'd have to perform at some point. The runes were etched onto the back of his hand, but he had the suspicion that it couldn't possibly be that simple. Again, he was left with the only option to simply wait for the moment and, when he had gotten better acquainted with wherever he'd been summoned to, he'd work on getting back.

He was not particularly happy with the role that he'd been given. Allowing himself a moment of pride, he was most decidedly not a simple, weak demon or magical beast one could easily enslave to perform menial tasks for a mage. He also did not find happiness in slavery. Neither was he averse to helping his 'master', however he could, he was just that kind of guy, but even so, he'd left an entire world hanging and he wasn't entirely willing to leave for too long, even if holidays every once in a while were appreciated.

Also, seriously, summoning one of the most powerful beings in the world to do your laundry was just plain overkill of the highest caliber. Had it been Albireo doing it to Evangeline, it'd have been entirely expected, though.

He would have to look for a way to make the supposedly 'absolute' contract, as Louise had put it, break. There was one way that would work, but it was a rather complicated ritual and he didn't know if he'd be allowed access to all the ingredients. Or if the runes he'd been branded with would work against him in that endeavor. Actually, he supposed that Louise herself could probably force him not to try that. So he'd look for some other way. Dwelling on it was, again, rather pointless.

Mostly when the pinkette summoner started to rouse from her sleep. He put on his warmest, most disarming smile, adjusting his glasses and the jacket of his suit (he thanked god that he'd taken it to the cleaners the very morning he'd been summoned, as he didn't know if he could find someone to clean it or make him a new one, and he liked his suits very much), just as her eyes focused on him.

"W-Who are you..?" She seemed to still be half asleep when she did wake up. Not a morning person, he assumed. Well, he was also used to dealing with these types, too. Which was the reason he'd been reluctant to wake her up, really, as she'd looked kind of cute while asleep and he knew that she probably wouldn't have been too happy to get her sleep interrupted. She'd been rather tired last night, by her own admission.

"Good morning." He said, smiling and bowing ever so slightly to his 'master', as odd as it felt to do so. He was often on the receiving end of these kinds of gestures, and he'd never quite liked it. It felt equally odd to bow to someone whilst acting like a servant, but then again, he was Negi Springfield, one of the world's biggest overachievers. If he was gonna be a familiar, then he was going to be the best damn familiar he could be. That was the way he'd been taught to live, after all, and he knew that the best option was to take after Chachamaru for this. Chachamaru was a VERY good servant. And secretary. "Your clothes, Master."

He placed a neatly folded pile of clothing that contained a scandalously short skirt, a button up shirt, a pair of panties and a pair of thigh high socks. The fact that she seemed to posess no bras reminded him of a very important fact. He would've chuckled at her, again, strangely cute morning rituals, if it weren't for the fact that she looked just like someone else he knew was not a morning person. A fact that sent a chill down his spine when she yawned and tried to rub the sleep off her eyes.

She... She was just like...

So THAT was why he was so strangely subservient. He had to admit, it was a damn good reason to be. Although the hairstyle was different, the quantity was just about right, and in the dim light, the color wasn't a problem to ignore."Ah, my familiar..." Though she still seemed barely conscious. "I summoned you yesterday... Right?" Still, she was more adorable than terrifying, truly.

"Indeed." he said, before turning around. Because he was a gentleman and his manners dictated that he not watch a woman changing if he could help it at all. That, and it was unsettling. She was _really_ childlike in appearance, and the parallels to another loli he knew were really starting to scare him. If she hadn't been as threatening as a kitten it might even have made him uncomfortable. He just prayed she didn't have her fashion sense, because, unlike the other one, this one wasn't seventy times the age she appeared to be.

"Dress me."

"Wha?" He blinked. Once, twice. She wasn't kidding. Okay, her nudity taboo was inexistent, apparently, if she was okay with him not only looking at her, but actually dressing her. It was sort of oddd. "I am a man."

She smirked, evilly_. Again, _it still couldn't compare to what he'd been forced to endure by the evil loli to end all evil lolis. "What are you saying? You are just a lowly familiar."

A lowly familiar? She didn't seem to like him much. Or think much of familiars. Negi didn't like this particular opinion of hers, but he decided to keep silent about it. A stranger telling her that she was a bigot and should change her ways wouldn't get through. "But I'm still a male familiar, Master." Though it was hard to keep his composure with the now _many_ parallels to Evangeline he could make out. It made him want to chuckle. It was like a nonthreatening version of his Master, really. Well, technically, she was his master too. It was sorta complicated.

Still, he just hoped that she listened to reason.

She wasn't going to have any of it. "When there's a servant available, a Noble would never dress herself!" … Really? He knew that would be the case if she was wearing a super elaborate dress that would've suffocated her if put on incorrectly, but the school uniform she wore seemed fairly practical to him... Well, the skirt was a bit short. Probably barely managed to cover the important bits. Given what he'd seen from his walk last night, he'd expected a reasonably conservative dress code. This certainly hadn't been what he'd expected.

Negi sighed, but did not drop his smile. He hardly ever did, even if it looked a bit strained to his trained eyes. Louise was unlikely to notice, and for the moment, he let the imperfections in the mask slide. His nerves were a bit overcharged and his annoyance toleration quota was not what it used to be. So he merely focused on his task. Even if she did cooperate through it, he still had about zero ability to dress a female. Undressing one was much easier, he had to admit. Particularly because he usually had female clothing of many sizes in his wardrobe. Clothes in his house, particularly feminine wear, tended to get destroyed fairly often. He blamed the teacher who'd taught him Exarmatio.

He was just thankful he hadn't had to dress her in an insanely elaborate elegant gothic lolita style dress. He did have to admit, when she wasn't channeling Evangeline, she was sort of cute... And even when she was. Evangeline was a bad influence. Then again, thoughts of perversion had no place in the mind of a gentleman, and while my own mind is fairly dirty, Negi had no thoughts about how soft the skin of his master's inner thighs was when he was dressing her.

"Let's go." And once again lapsing into Chachamaru's usual role, he followed her from one step behind. Because, evidently, thoughts of Chachamaru were the only thing that helped him remain in the perfect mold of a servant and not in his usual role of the hot british lover. Wow, I never thought I'd have 'british' and 'hot' in the same sentence when referring to a man unless I was talking about Austin Powers. Or maybe Daniel Craig.

Negi would give it to them. They did have a rather enormous cafeteria. Or did they call it cafeteria? He'd probably have to ask Louise at some point. Even so, he didn't particularly pay a lot of attention as he walked. Because he was busy taking in everything at once, as his eyes darted to and fro, never stopping too long in the same place. The students were rather interesting, as well. The tables were divided by cape color, and if he had to guess, he'd guess that they were probably divided by rank.

The various hair pigmentations he could see, however, bordered on the absurd. Evidently, just as Mundus Magicus, the presence of magic had an effect on the spectrum of colors hair could be. He'd investigate this correlation further some other time, however, because for one thing the author himself is hungry and for another we've already spent too long on a tangent about the phenomenom that plagues every anime ever. Really, though, bizarre physiology shouldn't really be something new to Negi, considering he was a crime against nature himself.

He walked in behind Louise, who had her head and chin held high, and almost made him want to smile when he noticed the fact that she was blatantly ignoring whatever comments may be directed at her. It was clear that she was doing so in an effort to get them to stop, which was commendable in that she wasn't trying to do it through violence. Words could be more effective, however. Again, coming from what she considered was nothing more than a lowly animal, his advise would be completely ignored, so he chose to keep silent. There would be a time when he would give her advise, but it'd only be when she was willing to listen to it.

No teacher likes to teach an audience that won't learn, after all, and as a teacher it was his task to have her want to learn from him. He'd managed to teach a group of rather unruly brats, he'd work with one noble brat.

Meanwhile, the pinkette herself was having wildly different thoughts. For one, her thoughts were focused on the fact that most of the whispers, which she actually listened to, even if she pretended not to, were centered on the rather spectacular failure that had been her summoning ritual, and how it'd been quite the impressive light show before the inevitable explosion. Most people knew that her theoretical knowledge of magic was truly second to none, though none had quite expected that she'd be capable of bringing her knowledge of theory into the practice.

Even Louise herself had been surprised to see that, yes, her studying had paid off in at least creating an impressive ritual.

The other problem she focused on, however, was the murmurs that were going around about her familiar. Her devilishly handsome familiar, that had every girl talking about him left and right. Evidently, it was his fault, because why would it not be? If he weren't so ridiculously good looking, people wouldn't talk about him all the time. Seriously, at times like these she'd rather have summoned a random commoner instead of him.

At least she hadn't gotten a perverted moron...

* * *

Somewhere, Hiraga Saito felt like he was missing something.

* * *

That stupid familiar, what the hell did he think he was doing? Well, Louise would not tolerate her familiar being a pervert! Then again, she couldn't fault him because he technically wasn't doing anything, even is she thought it was his fault anyway. Since being unreasonable for no reason would be, well, unreasonable, Louise simply tried her best to calm her nerves, lest she blow up and blow something up. Most likely her familiar. Steel yourself and your nerves, Louise, obey the Rule.

On the end of those already sitting, Kirche smirked as she watched them walk to a pair of free seats, wondering if Louise would allow him to take the free seat. Or she'd have been wondering about that, had she not been busier getting an eyeful of the gentleman that had walked with that pink blob in her sight. Clearly, Majin Buu had wandered close by looking for food.

It was just his manners that prompted him to put her chair in place for her, but Louise was still satisfied about the well behaved familiar who knew his place. Because, evidently, it was due to her great skills as a mage that this was so. Right? She was totally not a complete failure. In this, at least. Even so, she turned a curious eye to her familiar. Because she was expecting him to sit at the table or something.

"Oh, don't worry about me, Master." He said, smiling brightly as Louise looked at him, having had to turn around almost completely, as he was still a full step behind her. The position was kind of uncomfortable, as she also had to crane her neck upwards to meet his face. "I will wait for you." Though he eyed the food briefly, she could tell he was just judging it. A hungry gaze was very different from the gaze of a critic, after all.

It did look tasty, but if he could resist Satsuki's cooking, then there was nothing any other chef could hope to compete with. Negi decided that when he got back, he'd give her a raise, if only because he could compare now.

He still thought hiring her as the ISSDA's cook had been his best move by far. The morale had shot through the roof on that alone, and she seemed happy enough to work with her old classmates and teacher.

Negi was lost in thoughts about his old students, his mind wandering to the fact that by this point they would most likely be worried about his whereabouts, but mentally shook the thoughts away. Right now, he couldn't do much about it. So he turned his attention to his petite master, who hadn't dropped her seemingly curious gaze. Apparently, he was more interesting than her food. He did notice her pointing at a plate on the floor.

"Oh. Shall I take this to the kitchen to be cleaned?" He asked, halfway between hopeful that it wasn't what she wanted him to do and halfway hopeful she wasn't expecting him to eat from there. Because he knew that she didn't rank him above animals by very much, but it was still fairly insulting to be reminded of that fact constantly.

"That is what the staff is for. You're supposed to eat from that." Nevermind the fact that it was empty and dirty.

His eyebrows furrowed the tiniest bit, but his smile was still there. He looked at the plate for a few seconds, before returning his gaze to his master. "Oh." There was only the slightest bit of exasperation in his voice. Again, she was oblivious. He was very good at hiding the cues most people used to tell how another felt. "As I said, don't worry about me, Master." He repeated, still smiling.

To Louise, it was unsettling. Was he planning to die of starvation rather than serve her? That was a bit extreme... But it wasn't likely. Yeah, he was obedient, maybe he didn't want to trouble her? She supposed he'd probably eat with the staff or something. After all, bringing her familiar with her to eat hadn't been the brightest idea to begin with. Even so, it felt kind of odd to deprive someone of food. It was something that her parents had never done to punish criminals. Even the ones condemned to execution got one last meal. Still, Louise dared not comment on it and simply sighed resignedly, clasping her hands together in front of her face.

She knew Servants were supposed to stay silent most of the time, and they were to stay out of the nobles' way when at all possible. And when it wasn't, too. However, it was still kind of odd to realize that her servant merely stood behind her, smiling that same smile that he always had in his face, not even bothering

Indeed, she was correct on the second try. Not only did he not know their thanks, he did not know who the 'Brimir' person was. Even if he drew some parallels to the Lifemaker from the whole spiel. It was... something unsettling to consider that there had been many who whorshipped the Mage Of The Beginning. But of course, those concerns went unvoiced, as he was busy staring at nowhere while his master ate. In truth, he was merely continuing to speculate on his situation, trying in vain to find a way to cope with it as Louise ate silently.

So that was how the rest of his days would be, huh? He bit back the need to sigh. For the duration of the contract, he'd be stuck in that place.

* * *

Later still, he hadn't failed to notice the lusty gazes following him as he walked behind his master. In particular, he tried his best to ignore the redhead that had been fondling herself as she watched, or at least gave the appearance of having been doing so. You could never tell. There was much of Haruna in her, and he knew Haruna exaggerated a great deal of her perversion... even if there was also a lot that was genuine. Regardless, Kirche was trying to seduce him, that much was obvious.

That is not how Negi Springfield rolls.

He tilted his head slightly when he noticed where Louise was leading him. Free, open air, grassy field, close by wall... Several tables had been placed on the grass. Many students, second years if his suspicions about the cloaks were anything to go by, were there, most with strange animals at their sides or on their laps. According to what his master had told him, the ritual was performed by all second years, so it was kind of odd to see them all with their familiars in the open. Didn't they have classes?

Several maids hurried from table to table and back to the kitchen, carrying trays with food and drinks that he didn't bother to identify. Most of it, however, he noticed was probably of the sweet kind.

"Why is everyone here?" He asked, slightly curious. Again, it was kind of odd to see everyone out in the open in what he suspected had to be class hours. Considering everyone else had headed off in the same direction...

"There are no classes today for second years. It's so we can communicate with the familiars that were summoned." She explained. At the very least, she was good at exposition. The familiars varied from common dogs and cats to a floating eyeball. That was kind of surprising. He hadn't quite seen most magical creatures that inhabited Mundus Magicus, and they tended to run the hell away from any and all human settlements. The weaker ones, however, often stuck close to them. Magical creatures were smart enough to notice that every time a Black Dragon wandered near a human settlement, it'd be attacked by the humans and driven away, and so were most large predators.

"Oh?" Kirche's voice was very distinctive. Nobody else charged it with quite as much obvious lust. "Ah, Hello Negi!" She was busy petting a large red lizard's head, and though the fact that he hadn't noticed her before she'd called attention to herself had been slightly disappointing, she was still in a fairly good mood. She liked her familiar very much indeed and making a salamander purr was always entertaining. Who knew Lizards behaved like cats? Also, she had a nice piece of eyecandy to stare at. All was right with the world.

Smiling, he waved at her. "Hello, Miss Zerbst!" he replied. "Is that your familiar, by any chance?" She answered his smile with one of her own. Either of their smiles would've made any heart melt, really. However, the universe realized that there was too much sexy gathered in one place and thus we need to move on before something implodes and we all get banished to the blaghole.

Louise's temper flared to life for a second, her target the boob monster, but she reined it in. No need to explode just yet. Neither her nor her enemy, that was. She'd have time to blow her up 'accidentally' later.

"Yes! This is my Flame! He is absolutely obedient to his master." It was odd, as Negi hadn't ever seen non-sentient familiars, this was a surprise. "Right, Flame?" was it _purring_? It was odd enough that Negi figured it was just a difference in the Salamander's physiology to a common lizard's. After scratching Flame where it liked it best, Kirche turned to direct a sultry smile at Negi and Louise's way.

"Mind your own business!" Louise nearly yelled. Zerbst just somehow triggered her every berserk button with every single word she said. It was a talent, really. Most people actually had trouble getting under Louise's skin, whilst the Zerbst did it entirely by accident. Family rivalry, I guess...

"Is this dashing young man really your familiar, Louise? You had us all fooled with that explosion!" It was clear it was teasing meant to get a rise out of her. Negi smiled slightly, they seemed to be good friends. Well, Kirche acted like such at the very least. It was far more tame than the rounds of insults he and Kotaro had shared some times. After all, Negi had been an english teacher, and if there's anyone who's good at swearing it's someone who knows the language so well he can teach it.

Kotaro was just that damned creative when it came to cursing.

He swore he could see the vein bulging on Louise's forehead. That couldn't be healthy. "I performed the summon properly and he appeared!" she almost yelled, pointing a finger at the 'thing' she treated as an animal. Again, it was still kind of annoying to be referred to as if he was barely more than the dirt she scrapped off her shoes.

"Indeed. I can assure you, Miss Zerbst, that I was summoned here by Master." Negi said, standing next to Louise and expertly avoiding the poking finger by virtue of standing just out of poking range. It helped that Louise had rather short arms. A curse of her low height, he mused.

"Such a wonderful summons from Louise The Zero!" Kirche said, smirking perversely. It was clear why exactly she found the summoned familiar wonderful. At the very least, she hadn't tried to kidnap him to her bed. She did have a good noblewoman's laugh, though, Louise gave her that much. She'd actually tried to emulate it, and had never come close to Kirche's own. She was just a natural at being a perverted noblewoman. "Well, I guess I will leave you two to your own devices, I wouldn't want to take your attention away from your master, Negi!" She said, winking at him.

"Goodbye, Miss Zerbst!" Negi said, waving to the retreating femme fatale, who was followed by her red familiar. Again, she was trying to seduce him. He didn't even blush. Clearly, she hadn't brought her A game yet, too used to rather easily provoked males everywhere.

Louise growled, clenching her fist. "What is wrong with that woman?" She said, glaring at her back. "And you! Stop being so friendly with her!" she yelled, as Negi raised his hands in surrender, laughing slightly. He found her exasperation adorable, truly. It was clear that the redhead didn't mean any ill will to Louise. He'd seen a similar friendship before and been in one himself. "Go bring me some tea!"

He blinked. One of his great pleasures in life. "May I have one for myself, Master?" He asked.

"No!" He pouted at her, looking like a sad little kicked puppy. She couldn't deny, as she blushed, that he looked kinda handsome when smiling, but when he was pouting, he was just too cute to ignore. No grown man should be allowed to do that! "Fine!" She gave up, feeling the guilt lift when he perked up again.

He happily scurried off to the kitchens after that, following one of the maids, who didn't seem to have trouble despite the rather large number of utensils she carried in her trays.

The kitchen staff were kind enough to get him two cups of tea, and the good stuff, too. They also offered him real food to eat instead of a loaf of bread, but he'd politely declined. There was no need to waste food. His tea delivered, he'd gone back and forth, carrying the tray with the used cups back to the kitchens. He did not know exactly the kind of tea he'd been offered, but he still liked it. He liked any and all kinds of tea, after all.

He then got a lesson that he ought not to forget. He might be used to dragons, overgrown lizards, gryphons, gryphon dragons and a variety of other, scaly or feathery, magical beasts, but the purple floating eyeball was _still_ one of the most impressive things he'd ever seen. If only because of the sheer physical impossibility that it was. Evidently, whoever designed that thing had been drunk.

And it just happened to be his luck that as it passed, its leathery wing tickled his nose. Forcing himself not to sneeze wasn't healthy, let alone comfortable. It was just his luck that by doing so, he accidentally crashed on a passing maid and knocked her tray off her hands. Had he had slower reflexes, he wouldn't have caught it as it fell.

About an inch from the ground. Fuck up, averted!

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" He began apologizing as soon as he was up, holding the tray with both hands and bowing repeatedly, embarrassed by the fact that he had almost gotten someone in trouble. Because he knew, for a fact, that she'd be blamed for it.

"N-No, it's fine, don't worry!" the maid replied, turning to face him. He didn't notice the faint blush on her cheeks at the physical proximity. "I am sorry, sir!" she began apologizing herself. Possibly an instinct of having to serve nobles all of her life. If these nobles were anything like Earth's nobles, then they weren't the most patient of people and they weren't a role model to follow.

"No, no it was my fault." He continued. He didn't notice when her gaze locked on his left hand, which was still holding the tray.

"Ah, are you by chance the familiar Miss Valliere summoned?" she asked, tilting her head. She seemed to relax immensely almost immediately. He didn't blame her. For the few runs ins with nobles he'd had, they weren't pleasant people, and he hadn't even been the one their displeasure had been directed at. As a matter of fact, most of the people who could be considered nobles generally were desperate to kiss his ass. Considering he was practically one of the most powerful men on either world, he understood why, even if he didn't like it.

"Yes." he replied quickly while nodding his head. "My name is Negi Springfield, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Had he not been wondering what the standards were, he'd have taken and kissed her hand instead of bowing to her. Because, that is how a proper gentleman greets a beautiful lady. Right? To him, it mattered little that the girl was a servant. Heck, one of his best friends was his own cook! That, and he was still holding the tray she was supposed to be carrying. "May I have your name?" He tried to give her a nice, disarming smile. He never knew how it looked. She did, however, blush slightly.

"I was brought to serve here as a maid, my name is Siesta." She replied, a smile on her face. For the moment, he was just glad the tension broke the moment she confirmed he wasn't a nobleman. "Your name is weird, isn't it?"

Negi grinned, mildly embarassed. "My family has always had weird taste with names." he replied scratching the back of his neck. It was true! His father had always liked the japanese culture a bit too much, and so had his father, apparently.

"Hey!" yelled a rather annoyed voice. "I am waiting here!" continued the blond fop Negi recognized as Guiche. It was easy: the blond had left an impression the last time they'd met, by chance alone. However, he also saw that he was seating with a different girl that morning. The stereotypical stuck up noble wannabe ladies man. There was one thing Negi wouldn't let him get away with.

"Ah, at once, sir!" Siesta replied, although she still hadn't recovered her tray. She looked at it intently, but didn't take it from Negi's hand.

Faking a relationship for his own amusement. Sure, he'd let him get away with it last night, as he couldn't be really sure of his intentions, not even now, but he'd take a gander at his current situation and decide for himself on that regard. After all, if anyone had relationship experience when it involved multiple partners, it was him, and he could outright say that it DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY. Not unless you want to hurt everyone involved, including yourself.

The redhead didn't know if the blond was faking it or not, however... There was always a chance that he just didn't know what to do.

Negi turned back to Siesta, flashing her the same smile that had reduced women to drooling messes, and began walking his way. An implied 'I'll take this one' was on his eyes.

"B-but that is..." unnecessary? Possibly, but he was always glad to be of help, and he kind of needed to make it up to her for crashing into her and almost making her drop the food she'd been carrying.

If he really loved them both, then he could give him a hand with it. He knew how hard it was when your heart was split into multiple people.

He was scratching a giant mole's mane affectionately, as it let itself be petted by the blond fop. Green flag. "I spoke with Verdandi all night, Montmorency." Lying. Red flag.

"Really..?" The blonde, Montmorency, Negi assumed from the conversation, didn't seem convinced. "All... night, right?" The hesitancy on the word All was evident, and the reason for it was, as well. The blonde didn't trust him one bit. Perhaps it wasn't his first offence?

"Of course!" Guiche affirmed, with his standard propensity for overly dramatizing his actions. He continued the lie, and seemed not too foreign to doing so. Red flag. Such relationships cannot be sustained on lies. Even Kurt would tell this guy to tone it down.

"These smart eyes, this intensely soft fur!" Fanboying over his familiar despite it not being the standards of beauty was something Negi could respect. After all, he couldn't be all that bad if he loved his familiar regardless of the fact that most people wouldn't be content with it... Green flag. "She was destined to become my familiar!" Though his ego was a bit too swollen... Personally, he thought it was the good kind of crazy, anyway.

"Anyway, never do that in front of me again." She cut, coldly. Well, maybe she didn't like him interacting so closely with a large furry animal. Then again, his girls had come into much more intimate contact with Chamo... Although that usually ended in someone having to wipe the poor perverted ermine's blood off the walls. Often enough it was due to the ermine's own nosebleeds... How could an ermine so small contain so much blood in his body? It was another mystery of nature, he assumed.

"Here you go, sir." Negi said, his voice sounding as smooth as always, though he eyed Guiche a bit longer than what would normally be considered appropriate. His eyes narrowed, almost imperceptibly, at him. He was still observing

"Bring me another cup of tea!" That was a request he could get behind. The boy quickly turned back to Montmorency, who was busy petting her frog, which was expressing its delight by making a heart with its tongue. That... couldn't be right. It kinda made him think that frogs were underrated if they could control their tongues to that extent. Then again, it was a familiar frog, so it probably wasn't like a normal frog... but still, it was kinda eyecatching. I wish I could make this shit up. "Your familiar is very beautiful, just as yourself!" he called.

Negi had delayed fulfilling Guiche's request in favor of sticking around, see if he was leading the other girl on intentionally for his own amusement... Truth be told, he had a hard time telling. Guiche did genuinelly seem to like her, and it wasn't uncommon for men to exaggerate to impress women. Just as the inverse wasn't, either.

"You are sappy as always." Though her face was screaming 'Praise me more!'

"I cannot lie in front of your eyes." Red flag. Big time liar. That and he used the same line twice, or close enough. The redhead didn't quite recall whatever he'd told the other girl.

"But, I have been hearing rumors that you are seeing a first year girl. Is this true?"

"Absurd!" Okay, that was it, then. He was obviously leading both of them on intentionally and keeping both from knowing about each other as best as he could, which was very poorly. Had Asakura been around, Negi would've at the very least been easily able to expose this. Still, Montmorency seemed unconvinced, if the scowl on her face was anything to go by."How could that be, when I have the beautiful Montmorency by my side? After all, I..."

"Cannot tell a lie in front of your eyes?" Negi spoke. "I am sorry for interrupting, but that is both very clichè and you've already used that line." He chastised, before turning around to leave. It seemed Montmorency could handle her boyfriend on her own. He really hadn't intended it as an insult, merely pointing out that he could improve. Deeply ingrained teacher senses forced him to do it!

"W-Who are you?" Guiche asked indignantly, as Montmorency's attention jumped from Guiche to the retreating back of a strangely clad red haired gentleman.

"My name is Negi Springfield." He stated. "So, I was right the colors of your cloaks represent your grades. The girl you were with last night had a brown cloak, hadn't she? She was a first year, then..." And he hadn't wanted to let that one slip, since he was certain Montmorency would eventually end up finding out anyway. but he was really distracted with the confirmation of his theory.

"What is he saying?" Montmorency snapped, to the distraught Guiche.

"Return to your task, servant!" the blond fop snapped, rapidly getting to his feet. How he'd managed to do that without knocking the mole out of his lap was anyone's guess. He was also entirely too furious.

"I am sorry, but I am not a servant." Negi replied, before continuing on his chosen path, straight to Louise's table. "

"Ah, right, you are Louise the Zero's familiar..."

Negi nodded, without turning back.

"Guiche, what is he talking about?" Montmorency asked, a mix of curiosity and anger in his voice. Because she wanted confirmation for her suspicions.

"Ah, it's just, the other night, I just happened to come across him on a hallway, that's all!"

"Weren't you in your room with your familiar?" She seemed deceptively calm.

And so the liar was exposed. Negi didn't like ruining his reputation, particularly, but again, it had been an accident that his words had slipped through.

"Montmorency! Let us depart!" He nearly yelled, looking and sounding frantic.

"Hey, wait, why so soon?"

Negi rapidly figured out the reason. Sure, she was plain and average looking, not that she hadn't her own attractiveness and charm, but being underdeveloped compared to her elders made her look so, and the first year he'd seen last night with Guiche was unmistakable amongst the second years. The cloak was kind of obvious. She was carrying what appeared to be a white picnic basket. Did those even exist when his own world was so low on the technological ladder?

"Lord Guiche..? Where could he have gone..?"

"That way." Negi said, pointing at the fleeing blond fop. Again, it had been done on reflex. He just saw them as students and he automatically chose to answer their questions and help them.

"Lord Guiche!"

He didn't stick around to see the fireworks unfold, however. Preferring to lose himself on the crowd. He was trying very unsuccessfully to maintain the lie going, from the yells Negi could gather. The slap resounded across the field, though. So did the laughing.

Red with Rage, Guiche turned to the spot that was clean, where a man in green was walking away. "Y-You!" he yelled, pointing his rose wand at Negi. "You don't know who you're messing with!" He had a grin on his face, clearly thinking about some sort of punishment for Negi. Well, technically Negi knew nothing about Guiche. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Negi faltered mid step. "... Are you sure you want to do that?" He asked, turning around, looking more curious than anything else. He then realized he didn't really know the capabilities of this world's mages, and seeing the spells working rather than the basic theory behind it would be interesting, although he admitted that he wanted to see if he could learn how to use their magic, he hadn't had the time to check Louise's textbooks. He couldn't read the runes, but he'd get around that easily enough with a week or two. Maybe three.

A demonstration of magic in the flesh would be rather welcome.

"Precisely!"

Negi smiled. "Very well then!"

"I will teach you how to behave! You made two beautiful ladies cry!"

Negi felt a pang of regret hit him. It was indeed his fault that their little bubble had burst. Then again, it would've burst at some point.

"The gardens in front of the Vestri court!" Guiche yelled, as he stomped out, still fuming in rage.

But once he was out of the circle made by the students, Negi heard a second set of stomps coming his way. He almost immediately pinned down the maker of the sound, it was his master, looking as annoyed and angry as ever. "You idiot! What are you doing!" She yelled, grabbing a hold of his sleeve and pulling harshly as she began dragging him off.

"Uh... sorry?" he said, not really understanding where her anger came from.

"I don't care about what happens to you, but why the hell did you accept that duel?" He tilted his head. Was she worried about him?

"I had no reason not to, Master." He said, keeping up her pace with ease. "May I ask where you are taking me?"

"You're going to apologize to Guiche! If we hurry, he might forgive you."

"Master, I am not going to apologize to him." He stopped suddenly, and Louise found out that her size was really a disadvantage some times. "You're right in that I should not have provoked him, and I did so accidentally, but even so he was doing something very rude." And rudeness was unforgivable.

"You don't understand anything!" She yelled, trying her best to get to his face. It was a cute attempt, at the very least. "A commoner cannot defeat a noble! You're lucky you came out unharmed right now!"

Negi laughed. Because the insinuation that he could be harmed was actually sort of funny. So was her concern, for the record. "Master, do not worry about me." He said, once again. "I have confidence in my abilities, although I might be a bit rusty from paperwork." he admitted. If Louise hadn't been angry, she'd have blushed at his confident smile. "Could you show me where the Vestri court is?"

Louise was still fuming, but a rather fat boy with an owl perched on his shoulder spoke up for her. "That-a-way!" he said, a pleased smile on his chubby face.

"Thank you!" Negi pointedly ignored Louise's angered scream. Apparently, he was named Malicorne. He ought to commit that name to memory. Maybe.

"Ah, Negi! Don't do this!" A maid was chasing after him, much to Louise's annoyance, for some reason.

"This is looking good! Taking our bets, guys, taking our bets!" he began yelling at the crowd.

Louise's vein throbbed. Fat bastard... "Why did I have to get the idiot familiar?" She moaned.

Years after, Louise would look back and want to smack her past self for doubting her familiar's abilities.

_In a nearby tower..._

An old man and a balding teacher were talking. A secretary was shooed away. Longueville stuck her tongue at the closed door.

Moving on, _back to the court..._'

Negi stood, hands at his sides, looking at what was decidedly a slap's mark. It seems there was still red in it. That Montmorency girl sure had an arm. Murmurs and whispers ran around, the bets were heavily stacked in Guiche's favor, and Louise was still frantic. Siesta had failed to convince him to budge.

It was a matter of manly pride, it seemed, which he denied vigorously. Kirche had hit the nail right on the head. Then again, she'd placed a generous bet on his name...

"I am amazed that you didn't cut and run!" Guiche began, great pomp and class exuding from his every orifice. HAH, as if!

"Wait!" Louise yelled, breaking through the crowd, much to their annoyance. They wanted the beating to start already. Although the majority of the females were hoping his face was avoided. "Guiche, stop this absurdity! Duels are forbidden!" Well, at least she wasn't trying to stop him this time... Clearly, Louise had figured out that she wouldn't get him to stop.

"Only amongst Nobles!" Guiche corrected. "He is a commoner. There is no problem."

"That's just because this has never happened before. No commoner has ever been this stupid." Louise commented, absent mindedly.

"Ah, Louise, could it be that this commoner has touched your innocent your maidenhood?" Negi blinked. That was a _horrible_ choice of words. Evidently, Guiche was TERRIBLE when he hadn't rehearsed his lines. Seriously, that made him cringe!

"As if!" she yelled, blushing pink. "Just stop it! How could I just stand by and watch my familiar get beaten around?" The familiar is the responsibility of the master, and Louise was goddamned responsible. The rule of steel was to be upheld at all times!

"Even if you say that, that will not make up for what your familiar has done!" Guiche said, raising his wand and covering his mouth in yet another overly dramatic gesture. "Let the duel begin!"

Nobody bothered to point out that the fact that the situation had come to that was Guiche's fault anyway. It'd need someone to side with the commoner, and there were very few bets to his name.

A single petal fell from his rose wand, shining brightly as it touched the ground.

From it rose a Valkyrie of bronze. Negi tilted his head. So, they fought like Eastern mages, then?

"My runic name is Guiche The Bronze, therefore, this Bronze Valkyrie shall be your opponent!"

Negi frowned. This time for realsies, at the fact that Louise was still trying to break the duel. "Master, don't worry about me. I will be okay." He said, plastering on a winning smile. Still grumbling, the pinkette relented on her tugging of Guiche's cloak. That construct had a pathetically low amount of magic put into it. He was being condescending, clearly underestimating Negi.

The thing rushed at him, though instead of using the spear in its right hand, it went for a very poorly executed left hand straight. The thing was fast, but nowhere near fast enough to surprise him. Yet, it nearly blurred as it moved. It went for his face, and the sound of flesh and bone meeting metal shocked everyone. It was a sickening crunch that silenced the murmur... except it was just the sound of Negi cracking his neck.

The Magister's head snapped to the side, but the rest of his body remained perfectly still. "Well... that was underwhelming." Negi commented, placing a hand on the still Valkyrie's chest. _"Iaculatio Fulgoris." _He'd had to put FAR less magic than usual in the spell. Normally, there were no less than ten spears of lightning to work with. However, Negi's control of his own power was amazing, and getting one single spear of lightning was easy, despite his vast power.

Everyone blinked. Then rubbed their eyes. Then blinked again. The Valkyrie had been sent flying away, a spear that was cracking with lightning shooting past it, as the pieces that had once formed the construct scattered into the ground. Everyone was too shocked by that to even comment.

Thankfully, the thing's pieces didn't reach the edges of the circle, before they started to disintegrate.

_Again on the tower, a discussion regarding a legend was going on. It was, however, boring. Colbert may or may not have complained about a lack of funding for his research.  
_

Kirche smiled when she noticed her favorite bespectacled girl was ignoring her book to stare at the fight for a change. That, and he was most decidedly impressive, if nothing else. Apparently, he had brains and brawn, all rolled into one rather nice package. She could only consider how lucky the Zero was to have summoned something like him.

There was a thought shared amongst the gathered people.

So he wasn't a commoner after all...

Trying to save face in his panic, Guiche scrambled to summon several more valkyries, as half a dozen petals fell from his wand to the ground. "If you apologize now, I'll let you go!" not even he bought his bravado. He was terrified.

Louise broke out of her stupor. Sure, he'd defeated one, but there were six now. She'd question his magic later. And she'd interrogate him, Valliere-style. She better get the whip ready... "Stop it! Now! It's an order from your master!"

Negi just smiled, that infuriating smile. "I'm sorry, Master, but this is a fight between men, stopping it when it has just begun would be an insult." Rakan would've been proud! So would Albireo. Well, the smile HAD been copied from him.

As the Valkyries rushed forward, he took a step to be in front of Louise. He avoided the first one's spear, stole it from its hands and used it to whack the second into the ground. However, he hadn't intended to smash it into the ground like he had. It had been overkill. It was now buried in a crater. Odd that he lost control of his strength like that, but it'd been a while since he let himself go like this. Fighting non human opponents he could brutalize was always fun.

He quickly placed both hands on the spear's shaft and plunged it through the chest of the third, using it as a hammer to slam the fourth into the ground. It shouldn't be that easy. He wasn't even reinforcing himself. The only explanation could've been the fact that the valkyries were lighter, since they'd been summoned all at once. Probably to save on mana, Guiche had made them slightly weaker, planning to overwhelm him with numbers.

A sound strategy... except the power difference made strategy pointless by that point. Negi could win by simply smacking the valkyiries as they came.

Since the spear/Valkyrie Hammer combo in his hand was useless, he let go of it. The sudden feeling of power was gone. Maybe he'd unconsciously tapped into Magia Erebea. It was unlikely, but probable, and he hadn't used it in a while, so it was understandable that his instincts would take over in a combat situation.

This musing almost let the sixth Valkyrie and the recovering first (which curiously enough had a second spear in its hand) impale him, but he'd seen them coming easily, as he jumped above both spears, spinning around as he did, so that he faced down. Before they could direct their attention upwards, he pointed his palm straight down, in the exact middle of where the valkyries were standing. _"Iaculatio Fulgoris!"_ This time, he restrained his magic considerably less before unleashing it.

Guiche stared as six spears descended from the sky surrounding the familiar. They cracked with lightning, and when they struck, they tore the already battered and damaged valkyries apart, three for each one. They wouldn't even be usable as scrap metal, and they had been impaled against the ground. Negi smacked himself for being a show off and for reacting with unnecessary force. He could've just kicked their heads off or something.

Then he touched the ground. "Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister!" Cheers aplenty followed. He then pointed a finger at Guiche, who was still staring slack jawed at his valkyries' destruction. _"Flans Salvatio Pulverea."_

The blond fop hurried to jump to the side, as a gust of wind passed by the spot where he'd been standing, lifting dirt and small pieces of the valkyries alike. He yelled out as Negi smiled at him again. He hadn't even broken a sweat. Guiche subsequently pointed his wand at Negi, apparently getting ready to cast an attack spell.

Negi replied with another palm point as Guiche tried to chant. _"Fulguratio Albicans."_

Only a few sparks shook Guiche, and messed up his hair a little. The ground right in front of him, however, exploded in lightning.

"I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP!" He yelled, frantically trying to scamper away from the lightning wielding opponent in front of him.

The majority of those who had bet on Guiche began yelling obscenities. The rest slumped. The women in the audience cheered. Kirche, blushing, felt herself up while her small companion muttered something about perversity and left her alone.

Louise was in too much shock. Siesta was torn between cheering for a noble and the fact that that same noble was probably one of the nicest people she'd ever met and had no compunctions about engaging in commoner work. That, and the fact that a noble was a familiar and seemingly completely okay with it. Seriously, Negi was weird. Very damn weird.

"You're no commoner! That was magic right then and there!"

"I can assure you that I am not a nobleman." Negi said, smiling brightly, though most of the crowd chose to ignore that declaration because magic was the birthright of nobility and thus if you could do magic then you were a noble. "Well, technically, anyway." he amended, though that one went unheard.

He did just then notice that Louise was staring at him with admiration mixed in with rage. "How! Now!"

That one would be a lengthy explanation...

"I can explain, Master..." Negi felt a big drop of sweat run down his forehead. Why did he have to get picked by the Master that most resembled Evangeline when she was angry?

Damn scary women, those were.

* * *

Ye Gods, this one took forever.

bakapervert: Louise can't really boss around Negi unless he lets her. The canon Negi is already incredibly nice, and since he is currently in a situation that he doesn't have all the information necessary to work with or reverse, he has to conform as best as he knows. One might consider him submissive. When you're in a strange place, surrounded by strange beings, you really try to make some good relations. Considering he's a familiar, the situation is not one that merits flying around like a jackass saying 'Come to papa you bald bastard'.

Negi's too used to being bossed around by the women in his life, methinks.

Nynaeve M: No. Negi, as the son of Arika Anarchia Entheophysia, is the crown prince and heir of the kingdom of Vespertatia, in the magic world, which has its capital in Ostia. However, since the kingdom of Vespertatia was wiped out after the disaster following the Lifemaker's attempt at erasing the magic world before it collapsed, and its queen imprisoned as the culprit of it, it was completely absorbed into the Megalomesembrian Empire. For obvious reasons, Negi can't claim a throne that doesn't exist. However, this is not all there is to this issue, and explaining everything here would be redundant when it will be touched upon later in the story.

Negi is, for all intents and purposes, a commoner in everything but name. His position as an aristocrat is worthless.

And yes, he IS a descendant of the Lifemaker's. However, the Lifemaker held no position of power in Mundus Magicus, he didn't need it since he could just take control of his puppets whenever he wanted to.

Xanaris: Thank you for actually remembering that Negi is NOT an Idiot Hero and he uses his brain to actually get him out of problems instead of just blowing them up. That's what Nagi would've done. Being nice has its limits, yes, but those are basically Negi's patience, and he is a very patient man. Comes with being a teacher of the most unruly class in history and with being the director of the only agency that is populated mostly by women who have one degree of infatuation towards him or another. Valentine's Day is a complete nightmare for him, and he still pulls through with a smile, because that's how Negi Springfield rolls.

Negi spent nine years behind a desk. Every one of his friends that he occasionaly trains with and spars with are generally good enough that they force him to use one or another form of Magia Erebea, at which point flight becomes possible due to each Armationem having an effect that mimics flight in some manner. Since standard flight would only be useful to him as a means of transportation, which he doesn't really need, the fact that he should have learned is countered by the fact that he honestly didn't have a reason to spend time doing so.

I will come out and say it. Negi has gotten complacent and he has a damn good reason to be. He is completely unkillable by means of physical damage. No, really. Slice him into tiny bits? He'll regenerate. Crush him? He'll regenerate. Grind him into a fine paste? He'll regenerate. Even through most magical means, he remains unkillable. The only way to kill him is to destroy his soul, and there is ONE spell that does that. The spell that does that requires binding your target to the ritual ground long enough to perform a long and complicated ritual. So, yeah, there are very few reasons to dodge an attack from an opponent he estimates is weak. Golems aren't particularly high rank magical beasts, after all.

As for the next paragraphs... that's a secret, : 3

Trife: I answer any and all concerns that you might have towards my story. It's my duty as an author, and I REALLY hate it when authors are jerkasses who refuse to answer their fans' questions for no particular reason or react poorly to criticism of any kind. Being creatively gifted is not an excuse to be a jerkass. And I do hope I fixed the mistakes this time around.

anon (Anonymous Review):I see. However, there is not much I can do about the fact that I do not want a Marty Stu as a main character. I am already pretty damn close, if not in its territory already, considering Negi is genuinelly much more powerful than basically everything in the FoZ universe save Louise at full power.

However, I disagree with you on several points. Negi is a nice and extremely patient little boy by age ten. Having matured, his patience would have only grown even further. He does have the patience of a saint. Yes, he would take shit and not raise a fuzz about it because he really is that nice. And, considering Vespertatia is gone, he is but a prince of a forgotten kingdom.

Negi wants to get back home and work on what he has to work on, yes, but that doesn't mean he will be impolite. His priorities are sometimes a bit skewed, you see. The guy is the epitome of a gentlemand. Kind and patient. Letting things get to his nerves so quick is NOT conductive to solving his problems, and much less considering that he knows hatred better than most people, considering Magia Erebea. His Harem has no reason to deduce he is in danger. If they know Negi Springfield, they know that wherever he is, he is most likely alright.

You seem to assume Negi can pull magical powers out of his ass that allow him to tell how a bond formed with a magic spell from a style that he knows nothing about works. Playing it safe is only the smart thing to do, and you seem to forget that Negi is, indeed, a smart individual. He does not rush in like an idiot with no plan. He carefully considers his options and decides on what he thinks its the best course of action. Rushing everything helps no one.

Negi does not randomly mess with Guiche. Guiche is an idiot.

The Negi from the start of the series would've gotten creamed the moment he faced a trained battlemage, all things considered. Not to mention many of the things I want to do would be, honestly, rather unsettling with Child!Negi. To most people. Me? I couldn't really care less, in truth. I do need, however, a Negi that is more mature than his ten year old self is.

You have a different interpretation of how Negi should act. I prefer to stick to the characterization shown by the series itself.

As I said, I DO NOT like Marty Stus, and I will NOT let myself have one as a protagonist. If it takes giving Negi a million disadvantages so he does not automatically flatten the difficulty curve, then SO BE IT.

korrd: Ala Alba isn't as united as it used to be. Everyone's got their own lives, and while most do enjoy spending time together with their old friends, they cannot always be looking after the teacher that was actually far more mature and independent than they ever were. When he was a child, having the girls looking after him made sense, considering they lived in the same dormitory. As a self sufficient adult, he only really needs a secretary. Besides, due to how most of his relationships work, he is most decidedly not off limits. I'd call him a Pornomancer. Sex just sort of happens around him.

They will probably go ballistic once they figure out he's disappeared, though...

mdkcde (Anonymous Review): Yeah, yeah, I do know that my execution is lacking. There's a reason I write fanfiction and am not a professional author. If I were, I'd be making money! If I weren't average as I am, and instead were either epically bad or atleast good, I'd be capable of selling my books and living off them. As it is, I really am not all that special as a writer.

Whilst I do agree that there's a high degree of OOC behavior in Zero's Dog from Kotaro, there is nothing written about tastes, really.

The idea behind having those very brief snippets about Osmond and Colbert chatting is to show that they do happen but not show the content of those talks. Unspoken Plan Guarantee means that whatever they're discussing is probably important, but I'm deliberately obscuring it. Either that or it's just a joke about how the scenes happen exactly the same way as in canon, but I refuse to show them and only express the fact that they happened.

And yeah, I do know I stick a bit too much to the canon. I admit that the rewrite won't change that too much. However, Negi does frown at being a womanizer instead of a manwhore. Keep in mind that he respects women a great deal. I'm not particularly trying to follow canon to the letter, but scenes in which Negi has no influence will happen the same as they did in canon, and some scenes will be similar to canon because Negi is a chivalrous gentleman (where Saito had brief flashes of chivalry instead of perversion).

And... Yeah, I do hope that I can improve as I go. I certainly am trying to.

Lunatic Pandora1: Yep. Even though it still has less limitations than Halkeginian magic, Negi's own magic is not omnipotent. Sometimes, a little bit of courage is the real magic, *wink*

the DragonBard: Well... Negi is extremely good with languages (taught himself Japanese well enough to be completely fluent in two weeks), and Halkeginian is just very old timey French to him. Certainly, he is not very adept at the language, but he learns quickly. In the rewrite of chapter 1, there is a mention to the fact that he sounds heavily accented the first few times he speaks while he is trying to adjust to the proper dialect. Speaking for a long while with Louise, a very well read individual, gives him enough of a grasp on the dialect of French they use that he really doesn't have problems with it.

NaruAndHarrHaremFan: Well, the ending sequence pisses me off too, so I don't think I will end it like that. If I do end it...

Akuma-Heika: Evangeline is not a member of Negi's harem. Negi is a member of Evangeline's harem. And don't you dare say otherwise, because the Dark Evangel's vengeance is a terrible thing to contemplate indeed.

As to the harem ending... well, technically there are several ways to end a harem. To pick one, to marry them all, to dump them all or to pick someone outside from it altogether. Negi dumped them all in canon. I personally think this is a copout of epic dimentions and I believe Akamatsu did it while trying to imitate Tite Kubo.


	3. Nuclear Exposition Fairies

**La Nota Del Poema Que El Poeta Nunca Escribio:**

HOO HAH!

I began this one much later than I should have, :/

IANCE: Taking Harem Lessons from Unequally Rational and Emotional since... I can't remember. Still, I'm trying to match Maestro with the chapter lengths, but he's already past the million words! In any case, if you're not intimidated by that, or the Mega-Crossover aspect, I do really recommend it. There's plenty of interesting things to read in it, and the plot of Negima gets twisted so much it's probably sobbing in a corner, crying for its uncle or something.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter Three: Nuclear Exposition Fairies 2: Electric Boogaloo

Negi Springfield was a smart man. There were very few things in life that were reasonable to fear. He also knew that he had to be brave and face his fears in order to progress in his career as a Magister Magi, politician, diplomat, businessman or what have you. It was also simply the fact that he was a man who had often been goaded by one of his best friends to be as manly as possible in situations in which being girly would've saved him an iceberg to the face.

Kotaro had called him a man amongst men the day that he'd managed to piss off Evangeline that much. In truth, he'd been scared shitless and was just banking on Evangeline being in a good mood. She wasn't.

The half wolf spirit and the magister did agree that there were healthy fears. A drunk Jack Rakan was one, as there was no telling what he'd do, and any and all restraints were off when the man had more alcohol than was recommendable running through his veins. Another was Albireo whenever he was smiling in a particular way. It meant that he'd somehow found a way to screw with you, and the insanely old book spirit knew plenty of ways to screw with people.

The most important healthy fear of all, however, is the fear of the Dark Evangel. They understood better than anyone. Very few men in either world had the balls to stand in the same room as an enraged Evangeline, or anywhere near the vicinity of the area she was last sighted in when she was in a foul mood. And those that did were generally tough enough to get away with it, even if it would be battered, bruised and wishing they'd never been born.

The only one who could screw with Evangeline with impunity was Albireo, and it was because Albireo knew how to do it just right so she was pissed off, but absolutely impotent to do anything about it.

Rakan was the one Evangeline most often froze or hit with large chunks of ice. Kotaro was often simply smacked around.

Negi arguably had it worst, as the Dark Evangel knew holding back against him was pointless, and she was still, quite clearly, more powerful and better than he was. Seriously, Negi was certain that Evangeline was second only to the Lifemaker in sheer raw power, and she was better at making use of it than the Mage Of The Beginning. Evangeline knew hundreds of different ways to inflict pain, and she'd use them all whenever they were convenient. He had, in general, an aversion to piss off females, particulary the smaller ones, whose tempers were often far more inflammable, for whatever reason.

Yet he had still done it accidentally. Sure, Louise might not be able to throw glaciers with a flick of her wrist, but there was no doubt in his heart that she was still as scary as she needed to be. Simple resemblance was tripping every single alarm he had. He tried to raise his hands in a gesture of surrender, but the pink beast kept advancing.

It didn't help that he did it all the time, by complete accident. Sure, not all of them could overpower him, and defeat his superior abilities through sheer experience and considerable skill of their own, but he was still wary of righteous female fury. It came with the territory of being a harem lead. Sometimes, you just can't fight fate when it decrees a female will punish you.

"Tell me, familiar! Why can you use magic if you're not a noble!?" The implications of his magic ability were starting to get at her, and she wasn't finding it fun. Either he was lying about not being a noble or he was a freak of nature. Either way, she didn't recognize the fact that what pissed her off the most was that her familiar was, quite obviously, a skilled battlemage, and that meant he was a much better mage than she was. She also didn't want to admit that, given what little she'd seen of him, he made a better servant than she made a noble.

He was still trying his best to disarm her rage. Normally, a simple smile would work. "I went to magic academy."

"What kind of academy would teach a commoner? Nevermind that, _why can you use magic!?_" She just couldn't accept it.

"I come from a world where the social classes are divided by wealth, not birthright, although they tend to go hand in hand. Capitalists, those who have wealth, and the Proletariat, the work force." He explained in the simplest terms he could. She'd misinterpret, most likely, but he could explain in depth later. "But I digress. Anyone can learn magic, provided they have the dedication." he finished, having fallen into his role of teacher again. He wasn't a natural at it like Takahata was, but he still had the ingrained reflexes of a teacher.

Louise was at a loss for words. A world where _everyone_ could be a mage? That could not possibly be true. "Don't lie to me, familiar!" Because, evidently, her familiar was bullshitting her.

"I'm not lying!" he responded, frowning slightly. He did not like the implication that he was a liar.

It would take several more tries and repeats of fairly simple arguments before Louise's denial fell to pieces. She wasn't having a good day at all, even if her familiar had, at the very least, proved himself worthy of being a familiar. And much more, too. Evidently, she'd just have to accept, and swallow, the fact that her familiar simply came from a culture different from hers, no matter how weird that culture might be.

She told him to get lost for a while, and while most people would balk at that, Negi was glad for the chance to. As it was, he still didn't quite know his way around the buildings, so getting acquainted with them would be helpful, and being away from someone who treated him like trash for a while was not unwelcome, either. She'd also shoved her dirty clothes on him. Well, he didn't love chores, but he also had enough presence of mind to just do them instead of further provoking the pinkette, because his ears could only take so much abuse, and he would not snap and insult a lady.

That was not how a gentleman acted.

A gentleman, such as he, would back off for a while and allow her to think things through and calm down. That, and he really had to rest his ears for a while, lest they begin to bleed.

Even the chores she'd assigned him proved to his advantage, as he'd met a maid and introduced himself to her. Being a gentleman, he never forgot a face, unless there were several years in place between the last meeting and today, and so he'd probably be depending on the one he considered was his first friend in Halkeginian territory besides Kirche, who he suspected would've been just as friendly to him if he'd been a japanese pervert.

* * *

Sneeze gag. You know the drill.

* * *

He knew absolutely nothing of how to wash clothes beyond placing them in the washing machine with the appropriate ingredients, not surprising considering he did live in a modern society up until today, and so he would most likely need help in this endeavor. Being taught by experience that you shouldn't try to do something on your own when you don't know how to do it, and that asking for help is not for pussies no matter what Kotaro might say, it was not a hard decision. He just had to find a maid, and he knew exactly who he'd look for if he had a choice.

So as to not get lost in a tower, he went the most direct route. A helpful second year who hadn't bothered to introduce himself pointed him at the stairs, congratulated him on his battle with Guiche and then waved him off.

Nice enough guy.

It took directions from three more people to actually find the kitchen, where the servants would gather most of the time. There seemed to be a designed wing for the servants' quarters, but it was cramped and small, so it was unlikely they'd gather there, while the building the kitchen was located in was rather huge. The academy was ostentatious and large, exaggeratedly so, in his opinion. They could have made a functional academy that required much less space, if they just went for a more practical design, but no, they had to waste money and resources.

Having had to manage the ISSDA's own resources for a while, Negi could not appreciate waste.

Then again, he was used to facilities designed for practicality instead of elegance, even if simplicity had it's own flair, it couldn't compete with exploring a whole new place. Negi permitted himself a few moments of childlike wonder, because otherwise he'd go batshit, or so Chisame'd claimed. During the day, he got a much better look at the middle-age architecture and furniture. It was, indeed, exquisite, if wasteful.

Finally, after much wandering around, he did come across Siesta, who took him to the kitchens. Apparently, the rest of the staff wanted to congratulate him on his victory on Guiche, and were curious about him, overall. Particularly, about his claims about not being a noble. Disgraced nobles were not all that uncommon, but for one to be in the academy was an event indeed.

The head chef, a man who'd gruffly introduced himself as Marteau, didn't receive them with open arms. When Negi was greeted with a half hearted hello, he frowned. "Did something happen? You were all much livelier yesterday..."

Siesta herself glared at the rest of the staff. "Negi is not like the other nobles!" She declared.

"I'm not even a noble..." Negi corrected, and as if he'd flipped a switch, the mood of the room changed to a much more welcoming atmosphere. Apparently, it was enough for them.

"But you are a mage!" The head chef said, narrowing his eyes. In his eyes, all nobles were the same, since he was the one who had to relay their orders in the kitchen and thus the one who felt guilty when someone was pushed around.

"Lay off, man. If he says he isn't, then we'll believe him." One of the younger members of the staff, most likely a dishwasher, yelled while cleaning his hands. "He's a familiar, after all."

"Even if he was, he's not like the rest." One of the maids added, while she looked the new arrival up and down. "I mean, he dresses differently, moves differently, can actually fight worth a damn and is generally nice." She said, shrugging. "Ah, I just wish I hadn't already found a husband, these days..."

Everyone sweatdropped, anime-style.

"Fine, fine." The chef said. "I'm guessing you're hungry, aren't you? After all, your master didn't feed you anything." the man replied, reminding Negi of his own staff for a minute. They often tried to get him to relax and take better care of himself. The concern from his employees always warmed Negi's heart.

Negi smiled and shook his head. "It's alright, I am used to this." he said, bowing to the head chef. "Why do you hate nobles so much?" he asked, looking at the large man (although he admitted he wasn't the tallest man around, the chef was still intimidatingly large).

"Why not?" The chef replied with another question.

"Yeah, they are all assholes." One of the other cooks spoke, while washing his hands.

"They aren't _all_ bad." Negi replied, frowning. "They're just... a bit stuck up." he really couldn't say anything nice about most of the ones he'd met. He wasn't one to judge, really, but if the nobles were anything like most of the examples that transcend history...

"Understatement of the... Biggest understatement ever."

Siesta noticed Negi hadn't joined the round of laughter. "Negi, why are you carrying that?" She wondered why it'd taken her so long to notice the fact that he was carrying a basket with feminine clothes on him. Most likely not his, though the idea that he might wear silk panties was strangely amusing.

"Ah, right, that. I was wondering if you could teach me how to wash those. This is kind of new to me." he said, scratching the back of his neck with one arm while holding the basket up with the other. "Master is kind of demanding, and I have nothing else to do at the moment..." As a matter of fact, he did, but he still couldn't read their language, and it was late at night. It wasn't the moment to visit the library to look up information on the contract, and perhaps find a way to reverse it. "Please?"

Siesta smiled. "Sure!" She ignored the fact she'd be ditching work for that. She didn't give two halves of a damn. After all, there were more important things than work. Like pursuing a marriage option. She could already think of the family, the farmhouse, the white picket fence...

The head chef suddenly stared at them both for a second, noticing the faint blush on Siesta's cheeks and the young man's handsome looks. "Oh ho ho ho!" It was then that Negi noticed that the chef _somehow_ managed to have a better noblewoman's laugh than Kirche. It didn't faze him as much as it should have, and that was what disturbed him. "I see what's going on here... You go, girl, we'll be supporting you from here!"

Neither Negi nor Siesta managed to figure out what the hell he'd meant by that. Siesta because she was in her own little world and Negi because he was busy trying to politely reject the affections of the rest of the maids at that moment. He really had no time to stick around, as Siesta probably had other duties.

Turns out, Siesta was a hands on teacher... Though hands on _what_, I won't tell you, you'll have to figure it out yourself.

Negi wasn't having the greatest time on his life, but he had certainly never felt that way before. At the very least, he had learned a new skill. The lesson had gone flawlessly, Siesta wasn't a bad teacher by any stretch of the word and he'd entertained himself for a good time. She seemed a nice enough girl. Sunset framed the horizon, providing the lighting for a romantic scene. The implications flew right over Negi's head, as he was scarcely thinking about that.

He was distracted, as he walked through the path he'd done his best to memorize, trying to go back to his master's place, to see if she'd calmed down already.

That wasn't the problem. The problem lied on the red skinned fiery lizard sitting in the middle of the hallway, the lizard he'd only noticed when it prepared to charge.

It was a mystery of nature to see how they seemed to stare at each other for an eternity, Flame's low growls receiving no reply. "This is not gonna end well, is it?" He could have sworn the salamander shook its head before charging. Following orders, huh? Dodging it once or twice hadn't been a problem, but the thing was cunning, for a beast.

The crocodile tears gambit hooked him in far too easily. It had a surprisingly strong jaw, he noted, while praying for the welfare of his suit. Might as well find out what the hell was going on. It wasn't like he was in any sort of danger, and if Kirche had sent her familiar after him, it might actually be important.

It didn't take long for him to find out where exactly Flame wanted to take him. Though dusk had given way to the night by the time they did. He was practically dumped inside a room lined with candles. The atmosphere was nothing short of charged with sexuality, and Negi was, once again, unaffected. At least, unaffected in the way that most wouldn't have been. And by that, I mean that Little Negi wasn't waken up. Yet.

He wasn't a newcomer to those sorts of situations. Why, he'd been tasked with creating a proper atmosphere before. He knew exactly what was happening. And every one of his instincts was telling him to get the hell away. For some reason, he KNEW that everything would go wrong at the worst time it could. Goddamn Finagle.

"Welcome..." And that sultry voice was unmistakable. Neither was the dark skinned redheaded bombshell standing in front of him in what could only be described as almost there pajamas. Well, maybe she _did_ have enough to compete with Haruna's risque choices, although he thought that the Mangaka still won, mostly because modern techniques could make racier undergarments.

"Hi, Miss Zerbst." Though he was certain the formality wouldn't be an issue at this point, old habits, they die hard.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Negi..." She purred. "My runic name is 'The Ardent', because my passion burns... Do you know for whom the flames burn?"

This was going places too fast. And yes, he knew the answer, or at least, instinctively, he did. He was, however, having a hard time maintaining his composure and wasn't noticing that. She was good! "... W-Wha?" It had to be a problem with his blood flow. There wasn't enough going to his brain. So he tried his hardest to correct the issue.

"Don't you understand? I am in love!"

"I do not think this is a good idea. You are underage." He said, trying to back away, feeling the thick, hard skull of a fiery lizard getting in the way. He still tried anyway. He was stronger than the salamander, it'd give way, _eventually_.

"Your strength! Your knowledge! Your elegance!" Clearly exaggerations. She wasn't thinking clearly. Hormones be damned. "Ah, when I saw you fight Guiche, my body was on fire!" No, it wasn't, you were just horny, Kirche.

Negi blinked, because she was invading his personal space. Bad touch!

"I know that you can help me sate this hunger! Maybe you could be the one who can awaken those who are denying themselves the pleasures of life!" Wait, what?

"Wait, what?"

I already said that, young man.

"I canceled all of my appointments, Negi, because I have something to discuss with you!" She backed away, and the temperature decreased rather noticeably. For him, anyway. It was an incredible relief. "You see, your master, Valliere, is repressing her womanhood! This cannot be healthy!"

"I could be arrested for this... At least they can't turn me into an ermine anymore..." He muttered under his breath. "What do you mean?" He asked out loud.

"I am an expert in the ways of the heart and the body!" The ways involving lust, anyway. "I can see the look on her face when you aren't looking! I've seen how she stares at your perfectly smooth and round cheeks!" And for some reason, Negi was entirely sure she wasn't talking about his face. "She desires you, Negi! And I want to facilitate her desire! While satisfying mine, as well!" My god, the mental images! I won't be able to sleep!

"You two are really good friends, aren't you?" He asked, a smile worming its way to his face.

Kirche seemed to falter for a second, a somewhat sad smile on her face. "Our families have been rivals for generations. I thought I could mend our relationship, but a bit of playful teasing went too far..." Kirche began explaining.

A lengthy tale involving many events of mild lesbianism, lots and lots of sex scenes and family rivalry ensued.

"And that is why nobody, not even those who make fun of her, dares to call her flat chested." They were both sitting on Kirche's suspiciously well made bed.

Negi had had his own barriers destroyed, as he sat, making a very fine impression of a tomato, with his hands and eyes glued to his lap. "... Did you really..? With the..?" He couldn't even bring himself to name the actions.

"Of course!" Kirche replied, with a seductive smirk on her face. "Twice, in fact!" Ye gods, woman!

"You want to be her friend? More? I swear you're worse than Konoka..." Negi sighed. "I guess I can see where you come from. You don't do this for your own amusement. You do it because you want to see others happy. It makes you happy. Being the one who makes them forget the hardships of the world... It's selfish, you know?"

Kirche seemed hurt for a minute. She was thinking his words through.

"We are slaves to others' happiness, aren't we?" He said, a smile on his face. The smile made Kirche's worries go away for a while, as she scooted closer to him, dangerously so. She was letting herself get swayed. She wasn't one to let herself be carried away by others, but personal preference had no place in dealing with the ball of pure charisma that is Negi Springfield. "Searching for our own pleasure in the pleasure of others..." He had a faraway look on his face.

"... Maybe I could test the goods myself..." Kirche smirked seductively. She draped herself over her target and pressed him against the bed. She pulled back only to get her bearings back, she hadn't expected him to talk-

"That could be dangerous..." He cursed his inability to _not_ be Prince Charming. "Right now, every single one of my instincts is telling me to run away as fast as I can."

"Huh? Why?" Her pout _almost_ made him reconsider. Almost.

"Because if experience has taught me anything, it's that Master will walk in at the worst moment possible... Believe me, it has happened plenty of times to me."

Kirche blinked. Sure enough, Louise's stomps as she came searching for her familiar, because Kirche was quite obvious in her intent, were heard through the walls. "Oh, you wouldn't believe how many times I've had people walk in on me when I am expressing my love!" She declared. She actually had a list. "Very well then, some other time, perhaps?"

"Sure!"

The moment he was out of the room, Kirche noticed a pink blur dashing after him... She closed the door and set about relieving herself of the tension. She'd been so close, too! But he'd been, ultimately right. Louise would have probably unleashed her rage on him if she'd found them together, and it would've been unfair on him.

* * *

Negi wanted, very hard, to facepalm. It was only his schooled features, set into a disarming smile, that kept him from doing so, as he leaned against a wall, an angry pink fury standing menacingly in front of him. Again, she was like a version of Evangeline that, while it made him reminisce about the days when merely standing in her presence was terrifying, still couldn't measure up, really.

The only reason he hadn't broken down under the pressure was because she hadn't opted for something extremely skimpy. _Then_ he would have broken down. Because at that point, she'd have been just too cute. It was like a child trying to imitate an adult.

"What. Was. That." Not a question. An order. EXPLAIN.

"Um... Miss Zerbst wanted to talk to me, so she sent her familiar to find me." He replied. "And then we talked."

"Talked." Louise repeated. "Talked?" She asked, and he swore he saw her eyes narrowing.

"Yes." Negi continued, noticing his master's decreasing ire and latching on to it.

Then it returned full force. "But you didn't stop her advances! You just stopped because you knew I was coming! You promised to do it some other time! I WON'T ALLOW IT! NOT WITH HER!"

Negi pouted. She really should consider yelling less. It could harm her throat. "Master." He began, steeling himself. "Calm down, please." He continued, taking a deep breath. "I admit that I could have handled myself better bu-"

"BUT NOTHING!" She continued to yell, the angriest he'd ever seen her. "It's because of her breasts, isn't it!" She pretty much confirmed his suspicions. One, she was a far more explosive Anya. Two, she was too enraged to think clearly. Clearly, he needed to step up his game. Well, time to unload the big guns.

He sighed. "Not at all, Master." He resolutely replied, though Louise didn't seem to believe him too much.

"Damn familiar..." She seemed conflicted at the moment, she didn't want to believe him, but couldn't find a fault in him.

Brilliant ideas come every once in a while. He hadn't met her in a while, but a specific person came to his mind. He did let it go unvoiced, though, he was a gentleman and as such would never allow himself to say something so crass. Still... "Master, I have... had many lovers. Several of whom shared your..." Memories of what Kirche had told him arose. An explosion would ensue if he worded himself incorrectly. "... situation." he decided on.

This seemed to calm her somewhat, but she seemed to still be angry.

"I don't want you to see her even again. Our families have been rivals for generations! To let one of them molest my dog is an insult!"

Negi blinked. "... Don't you think it's petty, master? To hate someone for something someone else did in the past?" He knew he was being hypocritical at some degree, he held resentment towards a certain senate even today despite the fact that the original culprits had been already dealt with... but if he'd learned his lesson to not let it cloud his judgment, then Louise could too. "It shouldn't cloud your judgment, Master." The author wishes to complain about you repeating his narration, Negi.

"You don't understand anything!" She yelled. "You're just a commoner."

He sighed, it was clear that she still didn't consider his opinion valuable enough to tkae advice from him. He'd just have to work on it.

"Point taken." Negi said, sitting himself against the wall. She then launched into a lengthy tirade about how the Zerbst were the worst thing to happen to decency since the mini skirt was invented. Well, they didn't call it that, but the uniform's skirt was minuscule anyway. "I can't understand the difference, because from where I come from, there aren't such things as commoners and mages."

"How did her familiar kidnap you?" At least now she was calm. A big improvement. The day she learned ice magic would be the doom of him. "Aren't you a mage knight?"

"Well, yes." Negi admitted. Right on the spot on the first try, at least technically, since it was the style he'd chosen so long ago "But it caught me by surprise... I admit that it's been a long time since I've really been in a fight. And, well, I pretty much let Flame capture me." She chose to ignore that part entirely.

"What about your fight with Guiche?" Louise asked, taking a sip of the tea that Negi had served her. "You were so fast and strong..."

"Yes, but I was fighting constructs without sentience. It's harder to fight a living being that hasn't done anything to me and I don't want to harm." Negi explained. "And I don't know if I could have subdued it with my bare hands..." Mostly because he didn't know how to properly fight a lizard with Kenpo. "Well, I could have, but I would've had to hurt Flame, and I don't want to do that."

"Right..." She didn't seem to believe him that evening. "What kind of weapons do you use?"

"... Long Swords and pole arms." Negi replied, without thinking. "But what does that have to do with this?"

Hm... polearms could be useful, but most heroes in the tales Louise had heard often used swords. And mage knights generally went for sword-wands, too...

"Nothing." Yet, anyway. Louise was left wondering. Her familiar was a mage knight. She had ended up summoning someone who was a better magician than she was. And he wasn't even a noble to top it off. She felt her rage bubbling again. How dare a no name dog be her superior! Except he wasn't a no name dog. He wasn't a dog. He was a human being...

... But he was her familiar, regardless.

Still, when she pulled the covers over herself, the last thing she saw before she drifted off was a kind smile from him, and she felt herself smile back.

Oddly enough, she dreamed of Cattleya...

Kirche was insistent. However, Negi had the day booked already, and had to politely decline her request. Being who she was, Kirche quickly found herself another fling.

The day had been booked by Siesta, since he needed the lessons on how to become a better housekeeper. He had newfound respect for Chachamaru. Even more than he'd already had. Taking care of a tiny master was _hard_.

As he was being instructed on the finer art of manually washing a delicate pair of panties, he couldn't help but wonder. "Am I being a burden?" he asked, almost unintentionally.

The maid stopped what she was doing, which was guiding her 'student''s hands, and looked at him for a second. Then she laughed. "Negi, you are anything but a burden!" she said, quickly dismissing his stupid worries.

Of course, the moment she went to get him another bar of soap (Louise went through a lot of underwear, apparently), the day started getting worse. It was these days that he was ashamed of being a mage. Well, not really, but he was ashamed of other mages, in either case.

Three men. Two third years, from the purple cloaks, and one second year. Their hair colors were irrelevant. One was trying to go for the dangerous gangsta look and failing miserably. They weren't looking for friends, or a nice chat over tea. A shame. Negi could really go for a cup right now.

They surrounded Siesta rather quickly and easily, running their mouths and showering her with rather lewd comments. Siesta was, surprising him, perfectly still and didn't seem to be afraid or angry.

Annoyed, more like it, like someone who had to deal with that sort of thing every day. And he didn't like it one bit. "Please, sirs, I need to go." She spoke, her voice level and calm. Clearly, being a pretty maid was a hazardrous occupation.

The moment a hand tried to place itself in Siesta's butt, he already was holding him by the wrist. "That is not very nice." He said, narrowing his eyes and glaring at the bearded jackass. Siesta might be used to it, but it was still harassment. He let go of his hand and faced the snarls that they were directing his way.

"Hey, isn't this the Zero's familiar?" one began, smirking proudly. "I'll punch your teeth in!"

Siesta closed her eyes and expected the worst. Three mages was too much, even for him. By the time she was done doing so, she was staring at the noble that had once been in front of her, who was now four feet ahead, clutching his stomach in pain. "I think I overdid it..." Negi said, scratching the back of his neck. "I just really can't stand men forcing themselves on women." He couldn't understand it, either. Usually women forced themselves on _him_.

Siesta, of course, took the chance and glomped him, almost tackling him to the ground. "That was amazing!" So fast she couldn't even see it!

"... Not really..." Negi blushed, as the maid let him go. Then an alarm went in on his head. However, it was on a remote part of his brain that he wasn't using at the moment.

He didn't finish cleaning Louise's clothes. Louise didn't notice. She was busy chastising him for getting into trouble with the headmaster.

Nothing of much interest happened the next day. Kirche tried to get to him again, but Louise exploded her before she could try. That blue haired girl that had been accompanying Kirche was nice, if quiet. He went to Louise's class with her. The teacher complained about her students not paying attention to her. Negi was stumped on how their magic actually worked with no elemental spirits being bound to perform a task. It seemed they manipulated the elements outright.

Negi found the way they referred to their equivalent of Sunday kind of funny.

Negi really wished he'd asked Ayaka how to ride a horse without it destroying his groin. It wasn't something he couldn't take, but it _was_ painful. That, and he felt awkward having to grab onto Louise since she was much smaller than he. It would've been easier if he'd just run along the damned thing, but he hadn't thought about it until after he was already down. Clearly, he was a masochist.

Louise was happy since there hadn't been a single complaint in the whole trip other than the occasional Ow.

From a nearby window (with broken glass, naturally, it's what happens when you are on Louise's bad side... Or when she misses completely.), Kirche spied the two on a horse as they rode away through the lonely road travelled by mostly everyone. "I wonder where they are going..." She pouted as she recalled that all of her attempts to get an hour or two alone with Negi had ended in failure.

Mostly because of Louise. So, her path was set. She would find the best way to annoy and troll Louise. Her angry face was so cute!

She had expected the silence spell, it was her standard procedure, so she didn't let it stop her from shouting out her orders. "Tabitha! We have to fly! Get ready!" Kirche yelled at the top of her lungs.

The blue haired girl, Tabitha, looked at her and proceeded to shake her head, her eyes still locked in her book.

"I know how important free days are for you..." Kirche began, pouting at her easy dismissal. "But I am in love!" And had Tabitha been one more prone to speech, she would've pointed out that she fell in love every twenty minutes. "But he ran off somewhere with that Valliere! I have to know where they are! You understand me, right?"

She shook her head.

"I have to follow those two! I can't do it without Sylphid!" she clasped both hands together and landed elbows first on Tabitha's bed. "PLEASE!"

Tabitha nodded once, closed her book and got on with it. She wasn't one for wasting motions, it seemed. It didn't take long for her whistle to attract a large blue winged lizard. A blue dragon.

"Which way?"

"I was kind of in a hurry then..." Kirche seemed doubtful. Then, she smacked herself. "There's only one road, dummy!"

Tabitha looked at her, still completely deadpan, before crawling up Sylphid's neck. "Right." She said, since it was kind of embarrassing that she'd forgotten that. "Horse. Two people. Don't eat." She ordered her magnificent beast.

Kirche could have sworn the dragon sounded disappointed when it cried in response. Or maybe offended. It was hard to tell.

* * *

Negi was reminded of the Neo-Ostian Festivals he'd attended in disguise (or officially, though the entourage made the experience a bit less enjoyable). The marketplace was busy, bustling with people running around, some carrying bags, some carrying tools and some carrying or being carried by animals. Although that one was an anomaly, since everyone else seemed to prefer walking.

He was actually kind of excited to see a marketplace that actually belonged to the middle ages instead of a facsimile of one. "It should be around... Past the Piemont Apothecary..." She ran a scrutinizing look across the store fronts, before locking on one which had a sign that resembled a weapon, a sword, sticking out of it. "There!"

The salesman _had_ to be a rat hybrid. It was the only way Negi conceived someone could look so much like a rat. Though he did admit that the man's glasses reminded him of a very important fact. His own were dirty. He'd see what he could do about that later. A quick ocular inspection told him that he wouldn't be able to utilize the spears hanged around the store. Most of them were designed for single use, to impale a target and then pull a melee weapon. Or they were outright badly designed. Most of the pikes would just get stuck in someone's guts, or break off.

"This is the most recent fad that the castle guards have commissioned!" the pipe smoking man attending the store spoke.

"You must have a sword bigger than this, right?" Louise said, lifting the thing with ease. It was a rapier, designed to be light. She had turned to Negi for confirmation, and he nodded.

"I need something larger. I am used to longer and heavier weapons." Negi confirmed. "Not to mention, broader. I need a two handed sword." That he would wield with one hand. Again, Kotaro's idea of manliness indicated that he had to use big swords with one hand. Rakan approved. So did Eva, strangely enough.

"I want a larger one!" Louise then turned back to the shopkeeper ratman.

"Excuse me, miss, but the size is perfect for him." the rat thing countered.

"Maybe, but I am used to vastly oversized weapons. I need something at the very least the length of my own height." Negi explained, while taking the sword from Louise's hands. He took a step away from her and swung it a few times. It was a good weapon, but not his cup of tea.

The ratman smiled. "Very well, then."

And his cup of tea was serious business, so Negi put the sword back in it's rack and turned to the counter. "Why are you buying me a sword, Louise?" Negi asked, tilting his head. He hadn't really thought to ask, really. For realsies.

"Well, if you are going to protect me, you need a weapon." Louise replied, and as Negi opened his mouth to answer that he didn't _need_ a weapon, the store owner came back, apologizing for his tardiness.

He did, indeed bring with him a golden blade of considerable more length and width. Still nowhere near large enough, though, but that could be fixed. The fact that it was a broadsword was a start.

"It's the best weapon in this store! It's a famous Germanian blade forged and enchanted by the master alchemist Shupei! This should cut through iron like butter!"

Negi took the weapon from his hands and prodded it with magic. The enchantments on the blade violently rejected his own magic. A big no no given his preferred style.

"I can't use this." Negi said. "Not to mention, I assume it's also probably expensive."

Just as a test, he swung it a couple times. It was awkward to swing around, but nothing he couldn't work with. It was in the middle of the way between his preferred size and weight and a short weapon he'd have been comfortable with.

"Ah, but a great sword is more powerful than a castle!" The ratman argued.

"That depends on the weapon and castle, I believe. I have seen a sword tear through warships, flying warships and buildings with ease, but that sword was about twice as long as this building is tall, and just as wide." The ratman's jaw slackened. So did Louise's. Could such a weapon exist? It'd have to be wielded by a giant of unrivalled size! They didn't know that Rakan, while tall and really muscular, was not much larger than a standard body builder. "And I could probably destroy a castle with the Lightning Halberd at full power..." What the hell was that thing, even? Whatever it was, it must have been a powerful weapon from his land. "But these weapons are not quite in the same league." Negi then briefly thought how prudent it was to replace a mage's staff with a weapon. The enchantment to create a magical focus wasn't the most complicated one out there, lord knows he'd once foolishly tried to analyze and recreate an artifact and _those_ were insanely complicated, but he'd much rather have his actual staff.

He seemed lost in his musings, so they simply let him talk.

"I'd have to strip all of the enchantments on this blade to make it usable to begin with. I can't use it as a focus if it rejects my magic, after all." He said to himself. "Which would be a shame, it's fine work for a ceremonial weapon, or for decoration. I would use a spear, but they seem expensive as well, and they seem mostly designed for cavalry use. A halberd would be preferrable, but you don't seem to have one of those..."

"I don't need anything too expensive. Any normal sword will do." Negi finally decided, turning to Louise. "Is that okay with you, Master?"

Louise furrowed her brow. "I only brought one hundred new gold..." She suddenly spoke, since he'd adressed her after a while.

"Ah, a decent sword starts at two hundred pieces!" The shopkeeper said, wagging his finger. The boy might know enough about weapons to not get easily ripped off, but the noble lady was still just that.

"Isn't there anything below one hundred?"

The shopkeeper grinned with the grin only vermin should be able to give. And Negi wasn't sure if rats could grin.

Then again, the sword he'd pulled to give Negi was pretty much perfect. A simple blade that didn't have anything too fancy on it, even if the guard was a bit unorthodox. One touch had told him all he needed to know when the sword greedily drank his magic. If the thing was enchanted, then it had just the perfect enchantment, as it seemed extremely receptive to his input. And it was just about long enough that he should be capable of using it as a longsword, although most of his abilities lie with swords longer than Zweihanders.

"Thank you, come again!" He said, waving as they left. He seemed sort of bitter, though, that his 'best' weapon had been ignored that easily...

"I just bought something really expensive!" Louise said, as she walked in front of Negi. He couldn't argue. Who knew just how much a hundred gold coins would be worth in a modern economy... "You don't understand the weight a gift from your master has!"

"On the contrary, Master. I greatly appreciate your gift." And he did. It was his nature to do so. After all, when Evangeline had given him the ring that he'd used as a focus for a long time (in fact, he'd only stopped using it when the fights got so rough that the enchantments that made it tougher weren't enough to keep up, and he was loathe to see it destroyed), his fights had become that much easier. Now he had an excuse to use a sword! Well, a second one, anyway. Whilst he might not be a Shinmeiryuu, he was still decently good with a sword, although he preferred straighter blades to the Shimeiryuu Nodachi.

From way behind, Kirche and Tabitha followed, Kirche looking as if she were in thought and Tabitha utterly ignoring her. "That woman brought him here to buy him a gift and entrap his feelings! I want to see where this goes!" And join in if it went where she wanted it to go.

Much to her disappointment, at no point did it involve sexytimes. Though at least she got to introduce Negi to Tabitha... Or bring them to the same fact that Tabitha was naturally quiet and Negi was entertained by watching the catfight was a dampener on their developing relationship. Baby steps were a start, nonetheless.

"You were following us!"

"How pathetic, you only bought him that cheap sword!"

He ignored their bickering, though he drew the line when Kirche wanted to drag him to the store to purchase something 'better', he was happy with what he'd gotten. The sword was rusty, yes, but it was also enchanted to last, and removing rust wouldn't really be that complicated.

And then, when he'd been distracted for a minute, although he'd never admit he'd been staring at the same girl for longer than was proper, he noticed that both Kirche and Louise were pointing their wands at each other. This couldn't end well. Not in a closed room.

His Flans Exarmatio died in his throat, however, as he remembered the side effect that it would have. He didn't need to finish, however, as the blue haired bespectacled girl that he'd been staring at waved her staff (a painful reminder of his own missing implement) and both wands were taken away from their owner's hands.

"Inside." she said, before returning to her book. "No magic."

They just went back to arguing. So it was _that_ kind of relationship after all... Apparently, Kirche needed a restraining bolt.

"Hello, my name is Negi Springfield, it's a pleasure to meet you." Negi said, nodding his head at the blue haired girl, as Tabitha lifted her eyes from her book as an acknowledgment. That was enough for him. He was off in his own little world, to be quite honest. Why, you may ask?

He'd seen at the very least four different people at once. And he was feeling nostalgic. A quiet, cute book lover. If she was a covert badass and pervert, then he'd begin worrying.

Then he blinked. Kirche, curious, noticed how much Negi was staring at Tabitha. Then she went back to trying to claw Louise's eyes out.

"... Okay, I don't know wether to be angry that you woke me up, or if I should find this hilarious."

That voice had come out of nowhere.

"Sword." Tabitha said, not removing her eyes from the book. Now I'm kinda curious. What book could be THAT interesting?

Oh, right.

"Hey, you... You're my new owner, right?" the sword began speaking. "Hm, you don't look like much... Though if you have two women fighting over you then you can't be all that bad." Thankfully, Kirche and Louise were too busy yelling at and pulling each other's hair to notice.

"Uh... Thank you?" Negi said, not sure if that was a compliment.

"What year is this? Wait, before that, where am I? ANSWER ME!" It tried to go for a heavy, ominous voice, but it only sounded mildly whiny. Negi would've answered, but he wasn't entirely sure himself. "Or don't, really, I don't actually care." The sword finished.

"I think I like you." Negi spoke, smiling widely. "Hello, my name's Negi."

"Derflinger. We're partners now!"

Negi thought for a second. He had missed his own familiar dearly for a long time now. "Yeah... Partners..." and if he hadn't sounded so immensely nostalgic, then maybe Kirche and Louise wouldn't have stopped their fighting to stare at him.

He smiled, a sad smile that a clown would put on to fool a crowd. The smile that never fooled anyone, he never quite perfected it. Still, he was again lost in his little world. Who would've thought that he'd miss Chamo this badly? Even though he would have probably spent most of the time cleaning the ermine's blood from the walls...

"Ah... so cute..." Kirche muttered.

Louise felt the curious need to slam her palm against her face. "Why am I surrounded by idiots?"

"Karma." Replied Tabitha, though she did so with such a low tone that it'd gone unheard.

* * *

And naow, REVIEW REPLYING TAIMEZ!

korrd: The girlies respect Negi enough to realize that he's not a naive little boy anymore. Nice though he might be, Negi isn't gonna let someone who is obviously evil manipulate him, and he's most decidedly not dumb and easily manipulable. So, yeah, he's not off limits, though he does try to solve any direct conflict between his girls. Surprisingly, denying secks until they solve the issues does not work as well as you'd expect.

The Mighty Milkbone: Evidently, most people have no business being in the same battlefield as Negi. However, I'll try to have the challenge come from the fact that he can't just go and steamroll everyone's problems. For anything that's not a direct threat to his friends' lives, Negi tries to enjoy his fights and holds back from simply curbstomping people. Plus, that'd be an insult, and as a gentleman, insulting people is bad.

the DragonBard: Disgraced Nobles do exist. Louise is actually naive and is not entirely aware of how the world works. So she couldn't assume that he was a noble in everything but name. She genuinelly believes, by this point in the fic, that all people who can use magic are nobles.

bakapervert: Hilariously enough, Louise is still less bitchy than she is in canon. The one moment that she 'redeems' herself in is when she takes care of Saito after he's gravely injured. Here, Negi curbstomps Guiche so that part doesn't happen. Louise, as a result, comes off as even worse than in canon. The thing is, Louise was raised to be like this, as a noble. It's her character. Keep in mind that this is before Saito is flanderized into a horndog skirt chaser.

Xanaris: Before the rewrite, it was mostly the fact that Negi was reminded of Eva. Of course Louise can't match up against Evangeline. There are seven hundred years of difference between them. Eva is old as shit and can afford being a cranky old lady because yes, she is that badass. Now, after the rewrite, whilst she does remind Negi of Eva, it's more adorable than scary to him since it's like what he thinks Eva would be like if she were as old as her classmates.

Negi didn't agree with her on the implication that commoners aren't intelligent, he merely took a point when he said that he couldn't understand what she was thinking. Then again, now I actually explain that part, so the rewrite helps!

Hilariously enough, the only thing I had to add to 'fix' the confrontation with Flame was the fact that he pretty much let himself be captured because he was curious what it was that Kirche wanted.

It's not that Negi doesn't have a backbone, it's that he's got the patience of a couple saints.

mdkcde 2 Electric Boogaloo (Anonymous Review): Louise is in disbelief about that, and doesn't actually accept it. She actually went out of her room to ask him about that, but she just happened to be passing by Kirche's room when she saw him coming out of it. You know Louise. She forgot all about it the moment the Boob Monster put her claws on HER familiar.

Kaizer23: Well, actually, he IS immortal. His healing factor stops aging, not growth.

Also, turns out that what killed my inspiration wasn't the extreme pace: It was a computer breakdown, :D

Akuma-Heika: Negi never actually had to find his way anywhere, and when he did, he had a map with him. Here, he's dropped in a place he knows nothing about.


	4. The Chapter Title With The Horrible Pun

**Author's Note Thirty Second:**

Fact: I wrote this while listening to a song from an album called 'Assbabies'. Or Hijos Del Culo. Sons of the Ass would be a better translation, but 'Assbabies' sounds funnier.

Fact: Again I began rewriting this chapter later than I should have. Work eats into my writing time.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 4: A Mott Drawn To The Light

* * *

Longueville didn't like Lord Mott. Not one bit. She almost puked inside her mouth when the jackass invited her for dinner. A slimy jackass, on top of it.

Though it was nice to know that he'd come to warn them about Fouquet who might be trying to steal the Staff Of Destruction.

She still wondered if Old Osmond had been practicing how to dodge her projectiles. The old pervert had expertly dodged the thrown hand shaped paperweight. Her actual hand struck without problem, though. Someone's scream was heard in the distance, and a yell of "Where the hell did that come from?"

Well, she'd hit _someone_, at least, and that was enough to light up the reminder of her day.

* * *

Negi was, as was common of his afternoons and evenings, taking classes on how to wash Louise's clothes. Mostly because he actually liked spending time with Siesta. And silk didn't like being washed like any normal man would wash it, apparently. One wonders how many different ways there are to wash a piece of fabric that was probably smaller than Negi's hand. The fact that he knew Chamo would die to be in his position made it mildly entertaining.

Siesta laughed at his failures, and she seemed a lot more relaxed with him every day. That was great, because he was really starting to miss the familiarity with which he'd parted not too long ago. On the other hand, this was also a painful reminder that he was dragging his feet. There was much to do, and while time wasn't limited, it wasn't infinite, either. Injustice for one who's having fun, truly.

"Ah, thank you very much, Siesta!" He said, happily raising the basket with Louise's clothes, and he could have sworn he heard the fanfare in the distance proclaiming his victory over a boss fight. The damn silky undergarments were a nightmare to wash. Seriously, he'd had less trouble taking on both Fate and Kotaro at once! Or that one time that Rakan had somehow convinced Evangeline to join the gladiatorial tournament, and it'd ended in a three versus one that Evangeline had still managed to win through curbstomping all three of them after Rakan called her 'Loli Grandma' and Kotaro agreed.

Ah, nice memories, those were.

She smiled and ignored the fact that his own clothes were starting to collect dirt. "Ah, Negi, you learn very fast." Siesta began, mostly because she knew he'd otherwise leave to deliver his load. "Are you sure you have never done this before?" she asked.

"Yes. Before coming here, I had never had to wash something by hand before." He admitted, smiling that damn charming smile that made her stomach twist and turn every time he put it on and made her words die on her throat. He did that a lot. The sexy was just codified in his DNA, there wasn't much he could do about it. "My fast learning speed is something that my teachers have remarked on multiple times, though." And his tendency to go for stupidly overcomplicated spells that to most people would've been impractical, but to him were very useful.

"Where are you from?" She asked, blatantly curious. "I mean, if it's alright to tell me." Who knew what kind of secrets a mage's familiar... or a mage... could hold? Certainly not a maid.

Negi blinked at the sudden question. "I am from another world." He said, easily enough. "Called Earth." he added.

Siesta blinked. "Really?"

Negi nodded, getting that far away look in his face.

Oh well. Magic was weird. And so far, he had proved trustworthy enough. No need to question the possible ramifications of what he'd just said. There was a world out there in which Commoners could learn magic... The mere idea of it was already enough to give her confidence. Evidently, the nobles were wrong, like she'd known all her life. Magic doesn't make one inherently better.

His smile turned nostalgic as he stared at the two moons in the sky. "Negi... Thank you." Siesta said, bowing profusely.

"What for?" he asked, curious.

"It's just... I admire you. Even though you are a commoner, " She would believe him if he said so "you are a powerful mage. You are my friend even though you are of higher class than I am, and not once have you looked down on any of us... You defeated three nobles using only your bare hands!" She seemed kind of surprised that was even possible. "It's because of you that I found the courage I needed to go on without giving up." That wasn't entirely fabricated.

To him, it was funny. Mostly because at no point had he seen a sign of weakness in Siesta. Rather, the contrary, as a matter of fact. He shook his head. "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Siesta." Negi chastised. "To tell you the truth, I depend on you, myself." He said, his smile stuck mid way between sad and sincere.

Siesta frowned in thought, but didn't reply. He must've been really sad if his smile showed it. It was strange how expressive his smiles were when she really paid attention to them.

"I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that I will be here for the rest of Master's life. I am cursing my fate because I had so much to do back at my world. And it's all my fault for walking into the portal in the first place. But when I came here, you received me with a smile. Even though your life has been hard, you still walk with your head up. I... I really admire people who can do so." He explained.

"But... I'm not strong..." She half-heartedly protested.

"Actually, you are." Negi immediately countered. Siesta blushed intensely. She hadn't expected him to flat out tell her such a thing. "All strength does not come from being physically strong, or magically powerful. Some times, the weakest man can turn into the strongest, for the right reasons. I was only a weak, powerless child once too. My own rise in power was helped by... several mental disorders." Most of which he still had. "As well as several teachers willing to give me more to work with."

Siesta seemed oddly pensive at the mention of him having several mental disorders. She had a general idea of what the term meant. She was no healer, and she might not have been the smartest one in campus, but she still knew that something that sounded bad along with the word 'mental' was generally not a good sign.

"For all of my power, my magic is not omnipotent. Some times, a little bit of courage is the real magic."

She knew she was being too straight forward. But being in his arms felt so good. She felt warm, safe, contained. He was a pillar of strength. A kind, loving individual that understood her. A man who she could respect and who respected her in turn.

Even if she'd have to apologize for staining his shirt later. When they went their separate ways, tears were still trailing down her face. "Goodbye..." She muttered to herself. Only when she was certain he was out of earshot and sight did she allow herself to break down into pieces. It wouldn't have done to sour his mood on top of her own.

She already had enough on her plate without having to endure making him even sadder.

Besides, if she'd gauged his reactions well enough, he'd ask, and she wouldn't be capable of outright lying, not convincingly, and then he would know, and then everything would be that much more complicated... Sure, he could handle himself in a fight, and he gave her confidence in the fact that the commoners were not forsaken by god... but even so, both herself and him were ultimately at the whims of a noble.

* * *

Negi really should have thought about being more stealthy when passing Kirche's room. Of course she saw him coming and kidnapped him inside it in half an instant. Her agility when it came to manhandling him was nothing short of amazing. He was also beginning to think she would be cold in winter, if her nightwear was anything to go by.

"Let's continue our conversation!" He just hoped she didn't want to pick up where they left off last time.

So as he sat, still ignoring the fact that she was scantily clad, on the other side of her bed, he tried to remind his body to send blood to his brain.

Kirche was sitting dangerously close, but she'd kept her hands to herself. "That poor girl who rejects the needs of her heart!" And Negi wasn't entirely sure who she was referring to anymore. The tale she'd spun was about her attempts at perversion regarding not only Louise, but also Tabitha. He didn't know whether he should find her disastrous failures regarding the latter funny or not. In the end, he was reminded of Haruna's own attempts on her ex-roommates.

And also the memory of the moment when Haruna was proven ultimately right.

Either way, the temperature had risen. So that's how she kept warm in winter. Interesting application of fire magic.

"Say, Kirche, how is it from the other side?"

An armor piercing question if there was ever one. Evidently, Negi didn't really want to spend much time beating around the bush. He didn't need to explain his reasoning for it. They both knew exactly what he was talking about. She smiled. "It's not so bad!"

He seemed mildly amused by her response. He would've probably given her the same answer.

Then she looked at him for a full second. "My passion cannot be sated by any single man!" She was very good at trying to hide the fact that it was indeed true and she was unsatisfied. Because she filled others' hearts, but never her own, never to completion. "My blood boils when I think about the night when you finally succumb to me."

He laughed. Bitterly. "Still, I have to wonder. Why me?" He asked. He looked at her and then pretty much transmitted the message "_Tell me the truth_."

"You're different." Was what she began with. It had apparently been a hard choice of words to make. "You never looked at my body. Even though I was flaunting it to drag you in. I admit, your playing hard to get is making you harder to resist." She laughed. "You saw right through me, just like I saw right through you, I imagine."

He smiled. "How so?"

"You admitted it yourself, Negi. We're both slaves to others' happiness. The only thing that brings us happiness is the happiness of others."

They laughed. It was joint expression that translated the fact that both knew it was true but would only admit so to each other. The laughter that a pair of idiots incapable of creating their own joy shared. Most called Negi a genius. Most called Kirche a slut. They were both wrong and right.

"I have to go. Master might get worried."

"One of these days, Negi... Just one night. One night in which we give our selves to one another." She was insistent, he'd give her that. "One night to find out how it feels."

"Maybe."

However, as he opened the door to leave, Negi was confronted by a very angry loli. Negi's blood ran cold. Evidently, Louise did not like him fraternizing with her deadly enemy the Boob Monster.

* * *

"You know, partner, I kind of thought I would lose you there." Derflinger commented, as Negi set about performing his task. Meaning, cleaning Louise's window. It was dirty with soot, probably from the girl's attempts at magic (which Negi was sorely tempted to study in further depth), and, while he wasn't used to doing the cleaning of his house himself (that's what he had paid servants for), he still wasn't fond of uncleanliness... He had the lesson beat into him one too many times. A clean workshop is a happy workshop. "Noble girl sure has one hell of a set of lungs." The sword commented.

"Agreed." Negi replied, while he polished the new glass. "At least she believed me when I told her that we hadn't done anything other than talk."

"Oh, what would have happened if she didn't believe you?" Derflinger asked, utterly curious.

"An explosion. And more yelling. Most likely." Negi said, shrugging. "Nothing I couldn't take, but things I could do without."

"I have to say, partner, I have never seen someone so powerful be so whipped. I think. I mean, one would think that she would treat a being vastly more powerful than herself with a little more respect." The sword was a conversationalist, apparently. "And I'm also curious as to why you let her do it."

"What should I do, Derflinger? Yell at her like a madman? Beat her up? Defy and antagonize her at every opportunity?" Negi asked, frowning as he tried to clean the spot that had a mark that just wouldn't leave. "She's not weak willed enough that simply yelling at her would work. Beating up a defenseless girl is... not something I would enjoy. Defying and antagonizing her would only make my ears hurt in the long run. Personally? I'm simply trying to be as nice as I can be. If and when she values my opinion more, I will give her advise, because being an unpleasant person will only hurt her in the long run, but until then, I don't think I can change her ways very easily." He mused. "Even breaking the contract, at this point, wouldn't truly benefit me without a way to go back to my home."

The spent a few seconds in silence. "Breaking the contract?" The sword asked.

"If I wanted to, I could have freed myself by killing her, but killing an innocent... I don't need to explain why I think it's wrong to. I need her to teach me how to read first, anyway." He said, giving the now clean surface a small smile of satisfaction, before starting with the next pane of glass.

"You speak of it as if you're certain that you could get away with killing a noble." The sword said, sounding quite amused by the exchange. "Are you?"

Negi smiled, but didn't answer.

The sword laughed. "You impress me, partner." The sword stated.

"You haven't given me any of your own opinions." its owner countered.

"Well, if you ask me, I think she needs to get laid. Right now."

He blinked. "Derflinger! You don't expect me to-"

"Of course I do, partner!"

Instead of reacting like Derflinger expected, Negi simply began laughing. "That will be her choice. I won't force it on her." He spoke. The redhead knew he had to work his way inside Louise's good graces, though sex appeal didn't seem the way to go in. If it was that easy, she wouldn't treat him as she did. "Though I don't think she likes me very much..."

"Bullshit she doesn't, partner. Else, she wouldn't get so jealous, don't you think?" The sword commented, as Negi stopped to think it through. The sword did indeed have a good point. It also held back the fact that the girl blushed whenever they were particularly close.

He narrowed his eyes, however, as he saw a figure in the distance looking up at the tower. "Siesta..?" She rapidly went away, carrying something on her right arm.

She probably hadn't been able to see him. The glasses were mirrored one way. He didn't know how they'd managed to invent one-way mirrors but not indoor plumbing. Maybe it was a magical enchantment? They did seem to be good at that, if the few examples he'd seen of this world's work were anything to go by. Alchemists could probably create material that was much better as a magical conductor than what people who worked with raw, natural materials could.

Some would've asked how Negi could figure out who it was so easily. Of course he'd know her figure anywhere. He was a gentleman and he could tell who his friends were from mere blurry shapes! It was a necessity. All that the Demon Inside saw were bloody shapes, and if it couldn't identify between friend or foe, there would be carnage. He used a napkin graciously lent by Louise for the cause of his glasses to clean them and then looked again. Yep. It was Siesta, in casual clothing that he decided she looked good in, boarding a carriage.

Odd.

* * *

He kind of half-expected her not to allow him to go to class. After all, last time had been kind of problematic. Miss Chevreuse had chewed them out because he'd been a distraction all class long and had asked too many questions she couldn't answer. Who knew he'd actually look into the theory behind the magic they were learning? Most mages simply learnt what they were supposed to do and did it. Some, like Louise, actually learned how the magic itself worked, but didn't question it beyond that.

To Negi, for whom the whole concept of directly influencing the elements instead of contracting a spirit to do it for you was alien, however, the mechanics of how it worked and why it worked the way it did were important enough to warrant investigating. Who knew what he could reverse-engineer from their magic theory alone?

He also had absolutely no luck picking up any of their spells. It was like basic manipulation of the elements, but they didn't bind spirits to do the actual manipulation for them, and he was so used to summoning spirts for nearly everything he did that stopping to do so was a chore, they actually forced their will upon the world. To be fair, that was actually sort of impressive. _Fairly_ impressive, as a matter of fact. Rakan did something similar, although Rakan mostly used it to buff himself and block attacks he couldn't outright no-sell, as well as to supplement the capabilities of his mana and ki.

Seeing how it related to Rakan's own style, his respect for the Halkeginian magicians rose a little.

Given his reasons, Negi didn't even ask to go to class, so he just wandered off on his own. Visiting the library of the academy was pointless at the moment for him. He couldn't read their writing, from what he'd been able to gleam from Louise's notebook.

So he was wandering around the castle when he met up with the Head Chef purely by coincidence. The man didn't seem to like him all that much last time they met. Probably a grudge held against nobles, and mages in general. He couldn't really blame him, even if he did wish he wasn't prejudiced like that. "YO!" And he was still as large as ever.

Though the bad blood wasn't there that morning. Evidently, Negi was nice enough to warrant dropping it. "Hello!" Negi replied.

"You need to come by the kitchen more often!" the man spoke, with his loud and over the top voice. What was odd was that Negi was entirely sure there was a student who styled his beard in the same way the chef did. Granted it was an awesome beard style, but he still found it odd.

"You spoil me, Chef." Negi replied, scratching the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"Don't be so modest, kid, enjoy yourself for once!" The chef yelled, folding his arms over his chest. Negi did join the rest of the staff in their upbeat mood. Or at least gave the appearance of doing so.

Negi stopped, then. Kid? He'd stopped being a kid ages ago! Then he realized how childish he was being before allowing that complaint out. "I do have something to ask, though." Negi began. "Today, I saw Siesta leaving in a coach... I was wondering what was wrong." And hoping nothing really was, of course. He'd made a friend and it wouldn't be pleasant to lose her.

"Didn't you hear? She quit yesterday." Spoke the Head Chef. "It seems that she was specifically requested by Lord Mott."

"Who is Lord Mott?" Negi asked, tilting his head.

"He is the royal messenger. He has a bit of a reputation as a womanizer." One of the dishwashers commented. "Well, to say that is understating it. He has many fetishes and its rumored he... ahem... uses his servants to sate them."

Negi seemed confused, so the Chef decided to illustrate. "We commoners are ultimately subject to nobles' wishes. There is nothing we can do about it." This caused Negi to frown noticeably. "But I guess you don't have to worry about that." he added, wondering if he was worried his master would sell him.

"But... Why didn't she tell me? I could have done something! Yesterday... Oh. OH." And it dawned on him why she'd actually wanted to say goodbye to him instead of just waving him off like usual. "I'm so stupid! If I had just noticed before..."

"There's nothing we can do." One of the dishwashers commented, cutting him off. "We don't like it, but it's our fate as commoners."

"This is not okay." Negi said, dropping all pretense for happiness. "I... there must be something I can do. There IS something I can do." Louise was an important noble. He knew because she had a great deal of leniency granted to her by the academy, as well as her rather considerable wealth.

The once fake upbeat mood crashed down as Negi excused himself off. He'd spent quite a long while in the kitchens, and it was likely Louise was done with her classes. He didn't have a clock, but the fact that the sun was setting was enough for him to know where he had to go to find her. She didn't hang out with anyone anywhere, so she'd be in her room. Perfect.

* * *

"Count Mott is the royal messenger. Some times, he visits the academy." Louise was wondering why Negi was inquiring about Lord Mott. Negi was wondering why he got the exact same answer. But at least, he was getting educated. "He is an arrogant man. I don't like him." That was completely useless.

Louise barely registered she felt at much more ease than normal that evening, as she brushed her hair. She would have normally bothered maintaining a more dignified manner of speech, but she was tired, and it was just her familiar.

"Why would he ask specifically for Siesta?" Negi wondered aloud, as he sat on the pile of hay that Louise had set apart for him as a bed.

"Partner, we _both_ know why he did it." Derflinger pointed out. Negi sighed, conceding to the sword that he was right.

"I've heard stories like that. There are many kinds of nobles out there." Louise continued, disgust clear in her voice. She _really_ didn't like Mott. "But there is nothing we can do about it."

"Excuse me, Master, I have matters to attend to."

"Hey, partner, take me with you. You might need me out there." And Negi sincerely hoped he wouldn't. "Besides, I haven't seen this part of the world yet, I think..."

* * *

Louise thought it odd that her familiar hadn't shown up for dinner. Generally, he was very quick about his business and was often right next to her whenever she needed him for pretty much anything.

"Where's Negi?"

Louise blinked. Then pointed at the trolley Kirche was carrying.

"Ah, this?" She asked. Louise nodded. "I was worried Negi might be starving, since his cruel master doesn't give him anything!" she said, clearly teasing Louise about doing that. She should have considered asking Guiche for lessons on overdramatizing your actions. She wasn't a natural at it like him.

Louise then realized something. "He never wants anything!" She snapped, her voice clearly at the appropriate level for someone who was a few taunts away of screaming vulgarities.

Kirche seemed actually stunned by that. "Never?"

"I have never seen him eat." Louise commented... and only then did she realize that that was weird. Evidently, he wasn't starving.

"I have seen him go to the kitchen in a couple occasions. Maybe he eats there?" Kirche wondered, folding her arms below her breasts and hoisting them up. Many men squealed in delight at that movement. "Anyway, where is he?"

"I don't know. He said he had something to do during the afternoon, and hasn't returned since." Louise replied, frowning in thought. Anger was beginning to build in her. That lowly familiar had built up trust just so he could betray her and run away... Or he'd gone and done something stupid. He seemed primed to do it.

"Oh, not too long ago, Negi asked me where Count Mott's mansion is located." Guiche commented, showing up from somewhere.

"Must have gotten fed up of the Zero and ran away to a better noble!" Someone not important commented, receiving a high five from the student right next to him.

"I have never heard of a familiar betraying his master..." Kirche commented. "And Negi wouldn't do that." She finished. Louise agreed. For all his faults, all the ones she perceived, anyway, she hadn't pegged him as the type to betray her at the drop of a hat. If he took as much shit from her as he did, it was odd for him to just get up and leave on a day in which they hadn't interacted that much.

But still, there was always the chance that he'd gotten fed up with her in the end.

"Count Mott is a powerful mage..." ideas for payback where beginning to form in Guiche's head. Oh, hell yeah. The asshole might've been able to defeat him, a Dot mage, but against a triangle he would have no chance!

Louise ran off before he could voice them, however.

* * *

It was farther away than he had expected. It had taken far more jumps than he would've preferred. He was getting lousy at traditional Shundou. And showing up as the God Of Lightning might put the guards on edge. He was just coming for a talk. Just checking for rumors that were surely overblown. Surely, Siesta was okay, and Mott's bad traits were exaggerated, right? After all, perverts weren't always of the bad kind...

A pleasant guardsman found him in the main gates. Just telling him he was there to see Lord Mott was enough. Negi still didn't like lying, but to expedite the process he used Ardescat, the most basic fire spell, to fool the guardsman into believing him a noble. The guard wasn't dumb enough to question a noble.

The guardsman sort of reminded him of Kaede, in the way his eyes were almost closed, yet he could somehow still see fine. The dark skinned individual led him through a rather lavish mansion, lined everywhere with paintings and furniture that were beyond exquisite. He had to admit, if nothing else, his mansion was well decorated, if a bit too tacky for him.

The fact that he passed lots of maids in ridiculously skimpy uniforms that barely covered their butts was the first sign that something was wrong. The second was the dead expression in their faces. Either they were immensely bored or they didn't have much reason to be chipper. He desperately wished it was the first. The skimpy uniforms were excusable: Rakan had done worse and he was an upstanding guy.

Mott received him almost immediately. And when he did, Negi forced himself to remain calm. The man was holding Siesta, who was stonefaced as much as she could be, to his lap obviously against her will. Her standard maid uniform had been exchanged for a skimpy, racy number that was obviously designed to not be able to be removed by the wearer. The exact same set the other maids wore, but even more sizes too small. The fact that it showed her cotton underwear didn't arouse him at all.

The choker around her neck was the cherry on top, as even Negi could tell it was too tight.

Two guards flanked him on each side. Evidently, they didn't want him trying anything. Mott was often a target of assassination attempts.

"What is it you want?" Mott said, his voice cutting through the tense silence like a knife. "You interrupted me at a very important moment, boy!"

He couldn't recognize him or his family from anywhere. The name was decidedly foreign. Mott concluded the boy clearly in his twenties had to be a diplomat from somewhere or possibly a foreign student on Tristain's academy. Albion, maybe?

"I am a friend of Siesta's, and I wanted to visit her on her new job." Negi said, a forced smile on his face. Strained as it was, it was still good enough to fool Mott. "She doesn't seem to like it very much." He commented, as Mott ran a hand through her backside. The urge to punch him across the face was rising, but he had to rein it in. He couldn't cause more trouble for Louise. He'd have to solve this in the most amicable way possible. When there were no more political restraints... Before then, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't do it yet.

Siesta looked further away from him. She was trying to tell him to let it go. She didn't want him to have to get involved with her trouble anymore. Because of a very simple reason. Negi might be capable of defeating Mott in a straight up fight. Actually, she had no doubt he could spank Mott. But he would be hunted as a criminal if he did, and she didn't wish that on him.

He didn't care in the least. "Sir, what would it take to let Siesta return to the academy?" Negi asked, trying his best to remain polite despite the growing urge to punch his teeth in.

"Have you taken a fancy to my Siesta?"

"Yes. She is my friend. And she is suffering here. Lord Mott, I beg you to reconsider."

"Negi..." Siesta was clearly looking at him, filled with hope.

"Boy, you should know that she belongs to me now! She is now my slave!"

Negi's eye twitched. "Please." He repeated, getting up to his feet and bowing to Lord Mott. Siesta gasped as one of Mott's hands began massaging her breast through her uniform. Negi had to force himself to reinforce the chains holding his inner beast in place, although the reasons to do so were escaping him moment by moment. He couldn't... political shitstorm... musn't make trouble for master...

"You should know that to a simple commoner, serving a noble from the palace is a gift!" He stopped handling her because he was evidently not in the mood anymore. That was a plus to Negi. "This little bitch is my new toy, got that?" Mott snapped.

Negi growled. His rage at the jackass was growing every second. Before he even noticed, he'd taken a step forward. Then, he kneeled. "Sir, I will do anything in exchange." He said, gritting his teeth. And if you don't accept this... I might just kill you and smear you against a wall. "For her." He finished.

"N-No! Negi, you don't have to!" Siesta tried to jump from Mott's lap, but the moment she tried to Mott's right arm clamped around her waist and pulled her back in.

"Anything, boy?" Mott's smirk _oozed_ sliminess. The stupid twirly moustache wasn't helping. "I have a... fixation with my book collection, and there is a book that I desire."

Somewhere, Nodoka felt something very wrong in the force of Book Lovers. Apparently, someone who liked books COULD be a jackass.

"It is a book that was accidentally summoned when a certain mage was experimenting with his magic. It is owned by a germanian family of nobles. Their daughter and heir currently attends Tristain's Academy." Mott explained, as Negi nodded, showing he was listening. "The Zerbst."

Kirche.

Maybe this would be easier than expected.

* * *

Louise was just climbing onto her mare when she felt a gust of wind behind her, and with it came a stone faced Negi Springfield. "There you are, you stupid familiar!" She yelled off the top of her lungs. "Where were you?" She nearly shrieked. A shout of "I Was Worried" would normally have followed, but she was conflicted about allowing herself to mention it. She was both angry and worried that he'd do something stupid, although suspiciously enough, she didn't know whether she feared for his safety or if she feared for the smear in her reputation that not being capable of controlling her familiar would bring her.

"Mott's Mansion." He replied, shortly.

However, any anger rapidly died on her throat. Things were dire, at the very least. Also, she was shocked.

"B-But you have been gone for half an hour at most!" Louise began, slightly stunned. "It is an hour on foot! How could you have made the trip so fast?"

"That's not important, master. Lord Mott is an evil man. I... Can you give me permission to fight him, Master? I wish to challenge him to a duel." He explained, as he followed Louise to the dormitories. If it was a duel to the death, he'd win and... not kill him. Couldn't kill him. Shouldn't kill him. Not a good idea. Trouble for master. Maim. Brutalize. Terrify.

"You're crazy! Lord Mott is a noble from the palace! Guiche can't even hold a candle to him!" Louise yelled, glaring at him.

"But Master, Siesta is-"

"It's too bad for her, but there's nothing we can do."

Negi's eyes narrowed. And it was the first time she'd seen him angry. She fell to her bed, recoiling from the glare. Negi didn't often let his intent to kill leak. In fact, he very rarely did. He didn't have a very strong one, compared to Rakan's or Kotaro's when they were pissed. It came from his rather impressive patience. However, he did have an inner beast whose killer intent could be compared to Evangeline's, and since the darkness was stirred by his anger, a little leaked.

Louise was afraid, at that point.

"I will be going to save her, Master."

"Are you an idiot? She's just a maid! You would fight a noble of Lord Mott's rank just for a maid?"

"Master, she is my friend." He said, grabbing Derflinger from where he'd put it to rest. "To answer your question... If saving one of my friends requires that I fight god, then I will!" Mott could not even reach his ankles in sheer power, and wasn't even in the same dimension skillwise. It'd be like Usain Bolt racing against a toddler. And normally, negi wouldn't have fought an opponent he could beat with such ease. Mott was a special case, and it was taking all of Negi's willpower to not give in to his violent impulses.

Louise was just left stupified, sitting on her bed, watching his retreating back. She couldn't even string together an objection. She didn't even protest when he gave her his jacket, and automatically hanged it where she could.

* * *

Kirche was having the time of her life. She never thought she'd see this day come. Maybe he'd finally succeeded at awakening Louise's libido? He wasn't wearing the jacket he usually wore, so maybe that was it. But, it was still odd. Negi didn't look like she was certain he would. He'd look more relaxed, more at ease and perhaps a bit satisfied.

Not as angry as he was.

"Ah, that old thing?" She asked, waving her wand. As soon as she did, a book in a complicated leather casing floated to her hands. "It's supposed to stimulate men's sexual appetite. For obvious reasons, I don't need it." She commented.

Negi was almost stunned by that. They made a magical artifact for that? He knew there were other uses to his magic he hadn't really explored, but that was a bit ridiculous.

"I agree." Why did she have to conduct every one of their meetings in lingerie?

"I'm not like Tabitha, so I have no reason to read it, either." She held it up for the taking. "I guess I can give it to you." She said, a perverted smirk on her face. "For a price."

Negi grit his teeth. "Kirche, I-"

"One date! With night included!"

Sighing, Negi smiled. "I'll take it. Though, if it could wait until Master doesn't want to hang me, I would appreciate it."

The dark skinned beauty smirked. "I want to see your skills at work. Promise me you will show me the best of your abilities!" It was very clear _which_ skills she was talking about. "Okay?"

"Promise." Negi said.

* * *

One had to be alert to have noticed the fact that someone had just flown past a window. Tabitha was more than alert enough. So as soon as she noticed that, she placed her glasses on her face and headed to the window. The sound of the impact almost rattled her.

She'd seen him several times, but every time she did, he was always doing something that didn't make sense. He hadn't flown. He had jumped from the tower. And he was completely unharmed. No levitation was cast. She was sure of it. She'd have noticed. He should've broken the bones on his legs, or leave a splat on the ground, given the velocity he'd crashed with, not an indentation.

Then again, barely a second after, he jumped into the air, at the very least some fifty odd feet, and then disappeared in a burst of wind. Her eyes widened, then she focused again, when she noticed a second burst of wind, in the far distance, having to use magic to actually be capable of seeing that far. Another followed, still in the far distance.

Interesting. He could not fly, but he didn't have to, considering he could jump incredibly high and it was apparent he could move _far_ faster than most, if not all transports she knew of.

What she did not know, was that every single one of those 'jumps' clocked in at 1800 kilometers per hour, minimum.

Despite the hour it was and her own sleepiness, Tabitha began shrugging off her green pajamas, already aware that at the very least she had to tell Kirche and the germanian would do the rest. After all, going directly to Louise would be a problem. She wouldn't understand anywhere near as fast as Kirche would.

And at that hour, she was certain Kirche was still wide awake, anyway.

Then again, Kirche's explanation would take too long. At the speed he'd left, they wouldn't catch up anywhere near fast enough. "Too fast."

Later, a single yell of "STUPID FAMILIAR!" could be heard all across campus. Whereas it was often tinged with anger, Louise didn't notice it was tinged with worry this time around.

* * *

Mott wasn't as quick to receive him this time. In fact, he seemed to be halfway dressed. That did not calm his nerves. Neither did the fact that Siesta was nowhere in sight. Negi's blood ran cold once more, and he restrained his temper, lest he give in and tear the noble prick apart.

"I brought the book that you asked me to bring, Lord Mott." Negi began. "Now, please, liberate Siesta." he said, still trying to remain calm despite the fact that at least two dozen guards had come into the same room minutes after he had. They must've noticed his rage.

The man took the book Negi offered and the key that would open it's embroidered leather casing. He opened it and discarded the casing. Negi would rather believe he hadn't just delivered a pornographic magazine, but he was too stunned by the fact that a modern -well, from the seventies, anyway, if the date stamp was anything to go by- pornographic magazine had found it's way to Halkeginia.

"But... How... What... Why..." He shook his head, he'd ask that later. Mott closed the book and ordered his manservant (who Negi was sure hadn't been there a second ago) to take it to his room. "Liberate Siesta now, please." He repeated.

"No." Negi's eyes narrowed. "As a matter of fact, why don't you come with her, if you like her so much?" Mott's slimy smile and his stupid moustache were sickening. "You would make a wonderful addition to my collection."

"... Sir." Negi began, taking a deep breath. "I don't want to resort to violence. Please, liberate Siesta."

Mott shook his head. "Such a naïve, gullible idiot!" he yelled. "I am a Triangle class mage! You don't stand a chance!" the noble boasted, but that didn't impress Negi. "You are circled by my guards. You have no hope to get out of this!"

"I challenge you to a duel." He said, hoisting the still sheathed Derflinger and liberating two inches of edge. "Right here. Right now. You win, I will become your slave for the rest of your life. I win and you will renounce your position as a noble. You can use any weapons or spells you want, and, if you want, you can have your guards fight too."

Terms he wouldn't agree to if he wasn't intensely confident and arrogant. Negi banked on the fact that yes, he WAS confident and arrogant like no one's business. Probably thought Negi wasn't much more than a dot mage or so. "I accept." The jackass' smirk told him all he needed to know. "I now have legal permission to kill you, boy, for raising your weapon in a noble's abode! Guards!"

Negi narrowed his eyes and pulled Derflinger from it's sheath entirely. He felt the same rush of power he'd felt before, but didn't care, at the moment, he was angry. Three guards rushed in, thinking they'd be enough. One went for a debilitating stab, while the other two tried to whack him with the wooden part of their lances.

Derflinger, far longer than it'd been in the sheath, it's blade extended and widened with transparent lightning, sliced through the spears like they were made of paper. The flat side of the sword served as a very potent blunt weapon with which to incapacitate the guards one by one. They were relatively innocent. Negi couldn't kill them for the fact that they had families to feed.

The other twenty one rushed to help their fallen friends.

He didn't move an inch from the spot he was standing in, expertly blocking every incoming blow, moving and twisting around at speeds that would have made most people dizzy. Spears were broken all around, and more than one guard sported a couple bruises as they stood in a circle around him. They had nothing to do with this, innocent men doing their jobs, he reminded himself.

No matter how hard he wanted to let loose and slice them all into tiny bits.

Then he moved. It was more a blur of movement that darted from guard to guard, each clash sending the armored men flying back, all of them knocked out with ease.

No sooner had he dealt with them all did six dagger shaped icicles embed themselves in his chest, splattering blood across the main hall. Negi didn't even flinch, didn't even move to dodge or block. He could have. He could have easily done either. But he didn't need to, as Mott would soon learn. But where Mott expected to find the dying gurgles of a life cut too soon, he found only silence. The sound of the droplets of blood hitting the ground stopped soon after the icicles struck, and then it was total silence.

The temperature descended. A tomb chill was in the air. The silence was broken only by the sound of ice crashing into the ground. The castle was lonely.

"You fancy yourself a magician of great power. You fancy yourself a noble of great ability. You fancy yourself a lord." Negi said, spitting blood ahead of him.

Mott unleashed some more spikes of ice, frantically trying to get the slowly walking man to stop. "W-What the hell are you!?" The man nearly snarled.

"Remember that you asked for this, Mott." The redhead spoke.

Mott prepared his signature spell, The Wave that would erradicate entire squads at once, and unleashed it...

_"Actus Noctis Erebrae"_

_... _Only to find out it had no effect whatsoever, and the water flowed away to reveal a monstrosity whose black skin immitated the darkest night, lit by glyphs that glowed like the light of the stars.

"**Ras Tel Ma Scir Magister!**"

And so fell the night.

* * *

"Negi!"

Louise had barged in with her wand drawn, having heard the commotion from outside and believing it to be her familiar being toyed with and slammed into the walls.

The scene she walked into was one of nightmares. Bodies thrown against the walls haphazardly, blood splattered everywhere and countless icicles and destroyed pieces of furniture randomly littering the floor. There was a huge hole where there had once been a flight of stairs, and burn marks littered the ground. Also, if she wasn't wrong, there were marks as if someone had taken a huge knife and slashed at the walls randomly.

In the middle of all the carnage was her familiar, covered in blood, Derflinger resting on his shoulder. He didn't look particularly hurt. In fact, despite the fact that he was covered in the red liquid, he didn't seem to be bleeding from anywhere.

He turned to face her, and Louise saw, for a minute, hatred and death and the rage of a beast barely chained, and then it was gone.

Mott was on his back, eyes wide and staring aimlessly at the ceilling.

He waved a broken piece of wood that might have once been a wand like a maniac while chanting spell after spell, but nothing came forth, other than his own spit from his mouth, which now coated his face along with his sweat and a few droplets of blood.

"Well, Partner, I've got to say, I think I've never seen anything similar." Derflinger commented. "I guess we should never speak of this again, huh?"

Negi nodded, knowing the sword would interpret it despite having no eyes. He didn't care to question how that was possible at the moment.

"He won't talk either. At least not straight." Derflinger commented. "You know, I'm having a hard time not gushing about the fact that you used me to defeat two dozen guards in four seconds flat." the sword continued it's chatter. "And... man, I'm impressed. I didn't know you had something like this in you."

Mott began sobbing in the ground, curling into a ball, tears flowing freely. There were awkward movements from his limbs, as if he didn't have the ability to move them very well.

By that point, Kirche and Louise were both staring at the scene with their jaws agape, looking a little green and ready to unleash the contents of the stomach. while the always immutable Tabitha had her head buried in a book. Curious, how she seemed unaffected by the scenery. "No kills."

"...What?" Kirche asked. "How is that possible? They're all covered in blood!"

"Breathing." Tabitha pointed out. "Too much blood."

"It's mine. Technically." Negi answered. "The most I did was give them a concussion. I didn't cut anyone enough to draw more than a pint of blood at most." And that was over time.

Louise didn't know what to think. What to make of anything. Her familiar was wounded. He was covered in his own blood. He had covered a room in his own blood. She didn't know how it was even possible to begin with. He had also bested several trained guards and a triangle class mage in combat. Must've been one of his spells that caused the mess. If she wasn't smelling it, she would've dismissed the blood as something else.

Despite knowing it might've come from a spell, Louise still wanted to puke. If it was supposed to cause that effect, then it was damned effective.

He had done so for a friend. The same man who she could order around like a dog, who would often obey her commands without talking back even the slightest bit (although he seemed hesitant about touching her) was also a much better magician than she was. She often forgot that. It was easy to. He was so damned nice that she had trouble thinking he was anything but a cool cousin or something.

It was distressing to know that if she threatened one of his friends, this could be the result. Then again, she knew Mott wasn't a particularly upstanding guy, but still... to go this far in his revenge?

What she saw scared her. Deeply. She'd seen beyond his pleasant façade. Seen the beast deep within. She'd seen the beast's work. She'd gazed into an abyss filled with the purest darkness, and the abyss had gazed back.

Louise was terrified of her familiar. And not in the way that she'd been earlier. Back then, he'd been pissed, at most. This... Negi was positively infuriated, and it seemed that whatever he'd done had barely been cathartic enough.

* * *

Siesta had gathered her few belongings rather quickly. Traveling by dragon was an experience that was decidedly hard to match. She knew there was still one thing to be done, however, when they got off and she was left alone with her savior.

"Thank you."

She'd dropped her bag and pretty much tackled him. Nothing much more needed to be said. She knew what she was thanking him for. He knew what she was thanking him for. She knew what he'd done. After all, she'd seen the scenery.

She didn't care.

The most pleasant surprise of the day was that he was a great kisser.

* * *

Woah, doing this is an asspain in the. Wait, I think I messed up that sentence somewhere. I'm going crosseyed...

Regardless, REVIEW TAIMZ!

the DragonBard: Void Shundou is faster than flight anyway.

And when he shows what he can do, people will shit bricks.

His titles, he has many of them, will only be revealed to his inner circle. He will earn a new one, though, after a certain event occurs.

bakapervert: You underestimate the power that fully traumatizing someone into being a nonfunctional human being has. And I guess I was a touch too soft with the aftermath of what Negi did to Mott in the original. He won't kill. He will, however, pull an Evangeline if he is pissed off enough.

VGZ: Louise was busy being scared shitless.

And the fight won't go quite like that, because when everything goes so well, there is no conflict and things are boring, both to read and write.

Xanaris: Showing how resistance is futile is basic when you're going for intimidation. Going for a complete mind break, though, showing that you're an inhuman monstrosity that your opponent can't even fathom works better. Negi showing that Mott's actions were inconsequential and that the outcome of the fight was predetermined helped him break Mott's mind. Struggling against a superior being is futile. And... Let's just say that Negi isn't at his peak. He's not a saiyan. He won't train if there's no enemy to fight.

Then you remember that these guys can't actually fly, really, they just levitate. That isn't fast enough to have aerial fights. Negi can't have an aerial fight against a grounded opponent. Dragons, though...

Derflinger is Negi's pal. I'll try to find a balance between beating the shit out of people with his bare hands and using his sword to do it. Negi relied primarily on kenpo in canon. He learned swordsmanship as a way to pay his respect to his mother, who used a sword. Because unlike Canon, which seems to have forgotten that Arika existed, Darkest Void!Negi still remembers that she existed.

Eveon: I do hope that the rewrite fixes these issues. To be honest, Louise is hard to write because her canonical personality grates on me most of the time. That's why nearly everyone who replaces Saito does so with someone who will help Louise develop into a better person instead of press every single one of her Berserk Buttons. There really isn't much explanation of why she acts the way she does, because there doesn't really need to be: She was raised to act that way, because she's a stereotypical noble.

korrd: The kingdom is gone, regardless of whether it's inhabitants still live. The Megalomesembrian Empire absorbed Vespertatia when its capital, Ostia, fell. So, in truth, the only way to get it back is to take it from Megalomesembria. And they're loathe to give it up. The manga just plain forgot Arika existed.

Bigreader in The Omniverse: Negi is immortal. His regeneration stops aging. It does not, however, stop growth. They're not the same process. Also, in a manner, yes, it is similar.

deacon (Anonymous Review): In the original, Negi was more passive and I didn't entirely explain why he was acting the way he was. I'm actually justifying the reasons why he's doing the smart thing instead of becoming an instant Marty Stu, besides being more interesting to read than a story where he solo's the entire plot.

Akuma-Heika: Hilariously, Negi has two titles involving the word 'God'. One is 'God Of Lightning'. The other... is a secret, :3. Actus Noctis Erebrae!Negi is still far more terrifying than standard Negi. Especially as an adult, which gives him a very sinister frame.


	5. Princess Who Is Not A Bride Yet

**THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE INGRATO FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS!:  
**

HEY YO!

Since I'm board as shizle, I actually started this one on time and the rewrite is most likely to go much more smoothly than the last two did. Writing only works well when you dedicate the appropriate time for it, *nod nod*.

Regardless of my mindless ramblings for the day, SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 5: A Royal Pain (In Her Shapely Rear)

Louise hadn't dared to meet his eyes. They had walked to her room in silence, every attempt at starting a conversation murdered by Louise's own somber mood. Maybe this time he'd just disappointed her. He had done something incredibly stupid, he'd probably begun a political storm from that alone. He knew the Vallieres were nobles of some renown and that Mott was the palace's messenger. That was a recipe for, to quote Udina who was quoting someone else, a political shitstorm.

He would like it if at least she told him how he could make it up to her. He wasn't going to apologize, he had done something he considered right, but he wanted to be in her good graces so he could get his point across.

The next day went by without much actually happening. It wasn't uncommon. Louise still didn't even talk to him. She was out before he could so much as get in a word to her, and she ignored any and all attempts to begin conversation, sometimes looking at him frostily before turning away and hurrying off.

It was frustrating.

The only thing he had to distract himself was the odd letter he'd received from a teacher. A pleasant fellow, dark brown hair, he seemed to have a premature baldness problem. He'd introduced himself as Jean Colbert. The letter had simple instructions on it. A simple order to meet him in a specific location. Nothing too out of the ordinary for him. Meeting people in places is basically how one does politics, apparently.

Regardless, Negi focused on getting to the place Colbert told him to get to. It was a vault of some kind where magical artifacts were kept, no doubt something quite important... for them. To him, their magical artifacts might as well be worthless at the moment. The vault's door was away from any prying eyes and ears, he surmised.

Colbert had thought things through, and he'd even been correct on assuming that he wouldn't need to get a response. It was a given that he would go. It was a serious and important matter that would merit such a thing, not to mention, Colbert was an intelligent man, he was a professor, and if anybody could help Negi with a predicament, it was someone whose knowledge of magic was good enough to teach it. So, when night's cover fell on the academy, he met up at the designated spot at the designated hour.

A massive door was the backdrop as the pleasant façade that the teacher kept at school was shed and he greeted Negi with a scowl on his face. "I will keep this short. What. Are. You?" Negi almost recoiled from the sudden mood change, his surprise clear. He still smiled, though, because he always did. Negi not smiling was kind of a rare sight. He had a long enough range of expressions with his smiles, anyway.

Besides, whenever he frowned, bad things happened.

"I am Negi Springfield, a commoner." Negi said, still not quite understanding what the balding teacher was implying.

The man pointed his staff forward. The heat began to raise and Negi could feel the mana gathering. Compared to what he could command in a split second, it might as well have been a spoonfull, but it was the thought that mattered right now. It was the fact that it was a clearly aggressive gesture. "I will ask one more time. What are you? I know you are not human."

Negi almost went into shock. It couldn't be. "What makes you think that?" he asked.

"I might be a middle aged teacher today, " Colbert began, taking a step forward. "But I am also a square class mage and a veteran warrior. I know my fair share of tricks. You haven't tried anything yet and you don't seem to be hostile, which is why I am even giving you the chance to talk." Hearing this, Negi could imagine a side of him laughing. It sounded a bit like Evangeline, actually. For this man to think he could threaten him was indeed priceless. Evangeline would've probably not been as kind as Negi himself.

Negi looked down, and resisted the need to bite his lip. "I am a being from another world... I was once human." He admitted. "What I am right now, though, it'd be best to discuss at another time." He said, offering his best disarming smile. Trying to look as unthreatening as possible.

It made no sense to point out that Negi COULD obliterate the man on the spot in six different ways. The man was concerned for the safety of the academy, and that made him a good guy all around. Killing him would not be something a hero would do. Therefore, the idea didn't even pass through Negi's head. So why the hell am I going in this tangent?

Colbert let the staff rest. "What are your intentions towards my students?"

Negi grinned. "It's nice to know you worry about your students just as much as I worry about mine." he seemed to have brightened up. "I am trying to learn the written language." Which he wasn't having much success with. Then again, it had been only one day, and trying to decipher the symbols was a pain in the ass without someone to tell him what each one of them meant. "It appears to be an archaic form of one of the languages of my world. As soon as I am done doing so, I will try to find a way to reverse the summoning spell. I don't like having to leave Louise here, but I have no other option. I have much to do back at home."

"Why are you being so open?" Colbert did not seem to relax, even slightly, despite his posture seemingly being more relaxed. It was apparent that the man was baiting Negi to try to do anything and was ready to counter at a moment's notice. Were Negi not used to Rakan doing the same (seemingly dropping his guard to bait his opponents into attacking was a favorite of the old gladiator), he might've missed it.

"You are worried about your students. I respect that. I want to assure you that I don't plan to do them any harm at all... I would like to believe that I have made a couple friends." Negi continued to explain. "And hurting their friends would hurt them, too, so I don't plan to do that." That, and hurting people for no reason is the realm of psychopaths, and, for all his mental disorders, Negi was no psychopath.

Colbert seemed convinced. Barely. "So... you had students?"

"Yes. I was a teacher, though current circumstances..."

Colbert spent a long time inquiring about the peculiarities of the world the strange familiar hailed from. Every little bit filled him with wonder at the possibilities. There was a world were magic was the realm of those who wished to seek it, instead of a priviledged few? A world where commoners wielded weapons with potency to rival the greatest magical artifacts, without an ounce of magic in them? A world that was far more advanced than their own...

It kinda made him feel inadequate. He did, at some point, call bullshit, except Negi assured him that it's the simple fact that since mages were always rather secretive in the magic world, the mundanes had to make up for the lack of magical boons by creating mechanical tools to do things for them. When Colbert thought about it, it made sense. Without Water Mages to make it rain in periods of drought, they'd figured out a way to make use of the water that was hidden below the earth, or manipulated the flow of rivers.

With no wind mages to provide artificial winds to push ships, to make mills work faster and many more things, they'd figured out ways to do the same.

Harnessing electricity in the way they had, though... the entire thing was beyond what Colbert could imagine. Negi pointed out that he wouldn't judge them, but he did also point out that most of the people of his world would denounce nobles as monsters and seek to overthrow the monarchy system to stablish either democratic or totalitarian political systems, and that they both had superior weaponry and numbers on their side.

"And, well, there's also the fact that we take our combat magic much more seriously." Negi admitted, shrugging.

Colbert didn't look convinced.. "Do you?" He asked.

Negi laughed. "Are you willing to test my words?"

The two teachers, although of radically different subjects, spent their evening talking. Negi did not want to burden Louise with his presence. It was clear she wanted to be as far away from him as possible at the moment. Colbert was surprisingly pleasant company.

A bit on the nutty side, and somewhat paranoid, when it came down to it. But what mage wasn't the least bit crazy, these days?

* * *

Louise found herself worried. It had been too long. She was acting like a childish little girl instead of a mage. She'd run away from her familiar the moment he'd proven his power to her!

Her familiar was exactly what she'd asked for. An unimaginably powerful being, and yes, she'd describe him as beautiful. Whether or not he was sacred was debatable. Maybe he was hiding something from her? Regardless, she shook her head and slapped her cheeks.

Sure, she knew he was strong, and that he was a mage. But at the time, she'd thought he was just a common mage. Maybe he was just a bloody battlemage, she knew how powerful a properly trained battlemage could be, and that his utter curbstomp of Guiche wasn't really a telling show: Any fully trained battlemage should've been capable of taking on scores of standard mages without training to fight, at least in direct combat. Most mages never really learned to defend themselves in case the enemy caught up to them. It was pretty much accepted, at that point, that they were going to die horribly.

His wild tales of another world could be explained by him being insane. Or he was just screwing with her. At this point, she wouldn't put it past him to have been screwing with her from the get go, making her think he was just a nice guy. She slapped her cheeks again. She had no grounds to assume that. The only time her familiar had displayed violent behavior was when he was fighting for the sake of one of his friends. She couldn't assume he was evil from his hating Mott. Not hating Mott was a sign of evilness, actually. Pretty much nobody liked the damn guy in the first place.

Maybe he was a freak of nature, a born commoner that could use magic. But that was something she would never entertain thoughts about. After all, she believed that god and the founder had made the world this way, because the nobles were the ones fit to lead and protect while the commoners served.

The thing was, he'd never shown anything like this. Sure, he'd been a bit brutal when handling Guiche's valkyries, but they were animated golems without sentience or sapience. He wasn't being mean or cruel by disposing of them as quickly as they came to him. And he'd only shown the prowess of a battlemage then. Nothing too startling.

And then Mott happened. Mott The Wave. A triangle class mage recognized by the palace. A mage of considerable power. And he was reduced to a sobbing, gibbering wreck at the feet of her familiar. Her familiar, who was covered in blood, _in his own blood!_ Her familiar wasn't just a mage. He was a monster. She couldn't even begin to explain how that was possible. A human being doesn't have that much blood in their body. The kinds of wounds that he'd been inflicted to draw it should have killed him. It was clear he wasn't human. He couldn't be.

He was a powerful magical monstrosity the likes of which she'd never seen. She'd heard that some of the more magically inclined magical creatures could take a humanoid form, and even mimic humans. However, those were few and far between, and the only ones powerful enough to do it convincingly were either extinct or so powerful that Louise would rather not have them as her familiar.

Legendary beasts were best left in their legends, after all.

Still... Wasn't that what she'd asked for? A powerful magical monster? It was exactly what she'd gotten.

There should have been some sort of consequence hitting them both by this point. He had attacked Mott in his own mansion! That stupid familiar, always giving her trouble... He'd probably be prosecuted as a criminal, and she knew, oh, she knew it very well, that if he wanted to resist, and turn his power against Tristain, she'd be dragged along for the ride, and it would not be a nice ride.

The fact that she feared her familiar might actually be a very big threat to Tristain's prolonged existence and security was actually distressing, as well. She knew he was tough. But... just how tough could he be? He made the trip to Mott's mansion in ludicrous times. Hell, he'd made it there fast enough that even riding Tabitha's dragon, Sylphid, had proved an inferior means of travel than whatever he used. He had taken out two dozen guards and a triangle class mage without even breaking a sweat and had been unharmed after the battle.

The Musketeers would have a hard time taking him down, most assuredly.

There was also the fact that she did not quite find the idea of him being killed entertaining, precisely.

But then, wasn't it her fault for allowing him to do something stupid in the first place?

She slapped herself in the face. Again.

She was a Valliere. As such, she knew one simple fact.

A mage who abandons her familiar, is not a mage at all. If he had done something stupid, then it was her fault. It was her fault for letting him go ahead and assault his mansion. So what if he was a monster? He was HER monster, dammit, and she was responsible for his actions, in the end.

The rule of steel so decried.

Still, as night approached and her familiar did not appear, she continued to worry. She'd messed up, big time, and because even when he'd tried asking her what was wrong, she'd shooed him away. She had been a scared little girl.

The heavy wind would not be pleased about that. The rule of steel had to be upheld. Terrifying or not, he was her familiar. Her responsibility.

Louise steeled herself. She'd face what was to come. She wouldn't abandon her familiar. She resolved it fairly simply. Next morning, she would confront him and chastise him properly for going off in his own and worrying her, that idiot familiar.

* * *

Negi hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Siesta was in a good mood that day, though, and she'd apparently been given a time off, because she'd been watching him for a while.

"... Are you practicing for the exhibition?" Siesta asked, tilting her head to the side. Negi had unsheathed Derflinger and was preparing to go through a morning Kata, while getting accustomed to using Derflinger as a focus point instead of his staff or ring. Casting magic without foci wasn't impossible, but it was more taxing than having one, and besides, Negi had always been fond of the image that his wielding a sword in one hand and his staff in the other had provided. He didn't quite look like Gandalf, but hey, it was a start.

Negi was not particularly bothered about waking up at the ungodly hours of the morning. He required very, very little sleep and what he did require could be supplemented by simply feeding himself his own magic. The only thing sleep really did for him was keep him from going insane, and the stress wouldn't set for a while yet, so...

"The what?" Negi asked, stopping what he was doing to turn and face Siesta.

"You don't know?" Siesta seemed utterly perplexed by his lack of knowledge. "It's a ceremony where all of the second years display their familiars. This year, Her Highness Henrietta will be here in person, so everyone is practicing very hard to impress her!" She explained. "I assumed that you wanted to impress her, too. The princess is said to be an unmatched beauty, after all..." And while Siesta actually had no reasons to doubt the fact that any healthy male would probably be interested in the position of power that being the princess' lover represented, she also had little doubts about the reason most people looked at it in the first place.

She also had no reason to be jealous for that reason. Right?

Negi seemed at a loss for words on how to answer that, as he'd never met this princess, so he decided to ignore that last part of her comment entirely. "Master never told me." He said. "Though she has been avoiding me lately..."

It still hurt to know he'd offended her that much. But he still wouldn't back down. Because he'd done what he considered was the right thing to do.

"She will get over it, Negi." Siesta said, smiling brightly, trying to cheer him up. Inside, she was kind of jealous of Louise, since he obviously cared a lot for the tiny, abusive noble, because he wouldn't be so down about it otherwise. The maid also knew what Louise's problem really was, as she'd seen the sheer fear in the pinkette's face. Heck, the other two had displayed open fear, as well.

"Still..." He sounded more than a bit distraught.

"Oi, partner!" Derflinger yelled. "We were in the middle of something here." the sword spoke, clearly annoyed. Siesta blinked in surprise. She'd heard it could talk, but to see it in person was something entirely different. It was something unlike what she had expected.

It was something _whiny_. The idea of a whiny sword was hilarious in itself.

Negi couldn't help but chuckle at the prospect of a jealous sword. "Oh, can I see you practice?" Siesta asked. It was more of a hopeful plea, actually.

Her drool was in no way related to the fact that he'd had to remove his (new) shirt and strange jacket to not dirty them. Nor was it related to the fact that she was staring at a very fine specimen of manhood swinging a more than Freudian implement. Clearly, Siesta had just forgotten to close her jaw in awe, right? The flush was only because of the heat, really! Wait... Siesta is not a Tsundere, so she wouldn't say that. Dammit, I lost the opportunity for a tsundere joke there! "Ah, you are so fast!"

The air behind Derflinger had a noticeable red tint, as the sword left gale after gale, following in each of it's insanely fast slashes. Negi was moving behind each slash, applying force through every muscle of his body. The color of the sword reminded him that it was still a rusted piece of junk to most people, which suited him just fine, really.

It was HIS rusted piece of junk, after all, and it was a gift, too.

Negi smiled, the movements flowing fluidly, beads of sweat running down every curve in his chest... and Siesta wondered if she'd get scolded too harshly for simply tackling him to the ground and taking him right then and there. She was absolutely certain that more than one would enjoy the spectacle. In the end, she'd managed to restrain herself. She really had to wonder, however, how long she'd manage to do so. She could already see it, he'd be such a wonderful father... Her family would love him, too. Though her younger sisters may or may not have to be neutered to prevent possible issues...

He was also wonderfully ignorant of her lusty gaze as he poured himself over his Kata.

Though all good things must come to an end. Of course, her wonderful time was only replaced by a wonderful mental image. He'd need a bath after training, and she wondered if she could get away with sneaking in after him...

Who was she kidding? Of course she could get away with it! She just needed to 'accidentally' stumble in after him... And then, she could just bathe with him to save time, which he'd see the logic of, and she'd just happen to drop the soap...

* * *

He stared like a child at those practicing with their familiars. "Everyone's trying so hard..." Another pang of nostalgia. Everyone was getting ready to exhibit their prowess. Granted, this time it wasn't going to end up with the most impressive school event ever recorded. Or the second most impressive school event recorded. The most impressive one had been his 'retirement' party, three years later.

Up to that point, he hadn't known he had fangirls in the kindergarden classes.

"Everyone is trying to impress the princess." Siesta commented. She'd insisted on washing his jacket and pants herself. The material was awfully delicate. "She has been a symbol of strength for Tristain ever since the King passed away." Explained the maid. That was different from the explanation she'd given before. "Plus, I'm certain that more than one thinks that they might catch her eye, as well." Oh, there it was again.

Dammit, woman, must everything relate to sex for you? Still... Negi thought about it.

A young princess, burdened with the weight of an entire country. A princess everyone was depending on. Someone who knew full well that the blade of authority had a double edge, he hoped. He knew better than anyone what she was going through. He himself was going through it, though on a perhaps grander scale. She was a normal girl, though. She wasn't a monster like him, who could take the weight of the world in his shoulders, and he would be willing to bet she didn't have the safety net that he had.

There was, however, something more important than his musings.

"Guiche, _duck_!" Negi yelled, and the noble immediately followed the command, as Kirche's salamander spat out a column of flame that would've burned his hair off. Or not. He'd been aware enough to see it coming, at any rate. Negi would give it to him, he had nice reflexes, at least. He replied to Kirche's enthusiastic wave with his own.

Guiche, meanwhile, returned to training posing with his giant mole after a little acknowledgement. Apparently, coming back after fighting Lord Mott with his objective achieved was enough for Guiche to grudgingly respect him.

"Ah! I almost forgot! We have to be prepared for the princess' arrival as well!" And there went the peep show! Such a wasted opportunity! "I'm sorry I can't show you to the baths today!"

Negi sighed in relief. Old habits die hard indeed. "It's no problem. Have a good day!"

* * *

Louise opened her mouth to talk. Negi got his hopes up. Then she pinched her nose. "You smell like a dog! For real this time!" she said, her tone much more subdued than he'd expected. It was so nasal it was actually kind of funny. And he was certain he didn't smell like a dog. Kotaro smells like a dog, and it isn't actually all that unpleasant.

Now, dirty dogs DO smell terrible.

Hot anger! Traditional hot anger! So much better than wariness and the cold shoulder. Negi smiled sheepishly. "I haven't had a chance to bathe ever since I got here..." He pointed out, fidgeting. He felt like a goddamn child again.

"... Do I need to give you the orders for everything? You _are_ a stupid familiar after all!" Louise continued. There was a hint of falling back into a comfortable pattern. Something he genuinelly liked hearing from her. She wasn't being particularly vicious either. For her, it was just routine to call him stupid. Again, he'd endured worse. "Listen, because I will only say it once. That was the stupidest thing you've ever done!"

Her glare was intimidating as always... Or it would be, anyway, were he not used to much worse ones. "...I can't promise that I wouldn't do it again in a hearbeat, Master." He replied, shrugging off her concern. "In fact, I can promise that I would do it again if I needed to."

The pinkette frowned. "You could have caused an even bigger incident." She said, her eyes narrow.

"I know." Negi said. "But... if it comes down to that, you shouldn't worry about me, Master. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, but your actions will still implicate me." The pinkette countered. Then, she silenced his further protest by raising her hand. "But..." Louise had to concede on something. "I understand why you did it. We will talk about a proper punishment later. Now, go wash yourself. I cannot have you receive Her Highness as a mangy, dirty mutt!"

He felt too much like Kotaro at that point. Though Kotaro seemed to enjoy getting bathed as a puppy...

... Actually, these days, he might have gained an understanding for why he enjoyed the times when Chizuru bathed him as a puppy. Kotaro had just hit puberty before him, that's all.

And it was thinking about that that he figured that he might as well just eat it and go take a bath. His streak was over. A shame, really. It would've been less of a shame if he'd actually asked Siesta where they were.

He didn't make it then. Louise almost exploded him. He was beginning to wonder if she enjoyed thinking about ways to punish him...

* * *

Old Osmond wasn't surprised in the least.

"There is something I wish to see for myself."

Not in the least. They said he was old and daft. They didn't know he was still as aware of his surroundings as they all were put together.

Osmond had not risen to his position by being an idiot, and he didn't keep it year after year because nobody else wanted it.

"There is..?" He knew what she was talking about. It was just a formality to pretend he didn't. The princess wasn't an idiot.

"It's a personal matter." No one fooled anyone in those kinds of circles.

* * *

Having four guards surrounding you when you come out of the bath (with freshly washed, dried and flower-scented, to boot, clothes) isn't normal. Said four guards being quite clearly far more elite than those who would guard a noble's mansion wasn't normal either. They weren't the common rabble, they were knights.

All four of them wore white capes, all of them sported rather large and muscular frames. Then came walking a woman in a rather elaborate dress. A brown, hooded cloak covered her from head to toe, and in the dim light the only thing he could make out was that she was smiling. She wished to remain anonymous, for the time being.

He smiled, replying to her own smile. In the darkness, the knights were the only figures that stood out.

"Kneel in front of her highness, commoner!" screamed one of the knights, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Negi did as commanded, still sporting a smile. "What do I owe the pleasure, your highness?" His tone was polite, controlled and level. He knew that he wouldn't get visited just like that. His worst prediction had come to pass, possibly.

"I just wished to speak with you in private, Mr. Familiar. After all, I wanted to meet the 'Nightmare' that Lord Mott described in person."

Negi frowned. "I guess he broke our agreement." Negi commented. "Are you here to arrest me? All I ask is that Louise be spared. She tried to prevent me from... visiting... Lord Mott's mansion. She is not at fault."

The princess smiled. "Knights, retreat to your bedrooms for the night. I shall be alright on my own." she stated.

"B-But your highness-"

"It is an order." She glanced only once at who Negi assumed was the lead of her bodyguards.

"Yes, your highness." The knight that had prepared to object grit his teeth and obeyed the order.

"Now, Mr. Familiar, we are alone. Stand." She commanded, and he obeyed. "We have much to talk about. Would you mind joining me for a walk? I understand that there is a monster roaming the academy, and I would not like to be unprotected in this cold and dark night."

A bold faced lie given to him with a pleasant smile. Negi smiled. The game of the liars wasn't something he enjoyed participating in. He had clearly underestimated the princess with his earlier assesment. "Of course, Your Highness..."

It didn't take long for her to get to the point, all things considered. "I have been informed of your particular circumstances, Mr. Familiar."

"Please, call me Negi, your highness." He replied, smiling. He didn't really like where this was going.

"Very well." Professional distance could be kept even so, by two people who had been thrown in the world of politics far before their time. "I wished to go straight to the source."

"I believe consorting personally with possibly dangerous entities is not the wisest move." Negi stated.

"Someone who went to the lengths that you did to avoid conflict does not strike me as the dangerous type, Mr. Fam- Negi." Henrietta countered. "Nor one who would willingly take all the blame to himself."

"I did not wish to cause the consequences to affect Master. She already has enough problems."

That she hadn't confessed to him. The only one he knew of was her magical inabilities.

"It is that loyalty that I respect. I believe you would like to know that officials judged mentally unfit for their task have no place amongst my court. Poor Mott was barely hanging on to his position in the court as he was. Ah, we have reached our destination." She knocked on the door that Negi had memorized by now.

Louise's room. He was wondering what the bloody hell they were doing there, but for the moment he'd wait and see. He found himself doing a lot of that, lately.

"Bwa- Who are you?" Louise scrambled for her wand, taking a few steps back. She'd clearly recently arrived at her room.

"Long time no see, Louise Françoise!"

Negi had to admit, seeing the overly professional and formal princess suddenly glomp Louise had been sort of funny.

* * *

"You were childhood friends, then?" Negi asked, pouring Henrietta a cup of tea. The woman was surprisingly pleasant whenever not remaining overly professional. She also had a taste for tea. Always something Negi would find lovely in any human being. Louise was a flustered mess still, and was sitting fully still and red faced. Evidently, there was more than a bit of affection for the purple haired princess.

If only she had wings, Negi might've made a joke about it at Setsuna's expense.

"Indeed." Henrietta replied, smiling widely. "Although I supposed she would have mentioned it." Teasing Louise never did get old.

Negi wished he'd asked Rakan how to see other people's flashbacks, because apparently, whatever memory they were sharing was most decidedly a pleasant one.

"I merely had the honor to be her playmate!" Louise interjected. Negi looked at her curiously. Was she really that shy? Maybe it was just appropriate behavior in front of a member of the royal family... "This is not right, your highness, you shouldn't come to such a place on your own!" Louise suddenly scrambled to become something more than a flustered mess. It halfway worked. To both Negi and Henrietta, it was adorable. The fact that she looked like a little girl with a precocious crush on a princess only made it further adorable.

Because girl on girl is hot, yo.

"Please, stop acting so formal, Louise Françoise. We are friends, are we not?" It was more of a petition than an order. Something Negi was used to. Royalty tired of formality. Theodora never ever bothered with it at all, something he was envious about. How did she manage to get her servants to not be as uptight as the staff of the ISSDA could be? At times, it was like having a whole bunch of mothers. "Besides, your familiar accompanied me here."

Louise turned to glare at Negi, but couldn't find any fault with that. He _was_ a powerful Mage Knight... it was still not the pleasant idea. Who knew what exposure to Negi did to people. Actually, she knew.

The population of the school was slowly being stripped of its mental faculties. Evidently, Louise had summoned one of the great old ones who was slowly unmaking her world, starting from people's sanity. She could do nothing to stop it, but she should still at least try to comba-

"I've missed you."

Of course, the princess takes priority over any and all trains of thought.

"Princess..."

"Ever since my father passed away, I've had no one to confide in so..."

Louise took the princess' hands in her own.

"Princess, I was so surprised when I got your letter..."

Negi smiled and took a sip from his cup of tea. Henrietta stood up and approached Louise, who stood on her feet to meet her. Then, when they were dangerously close, both staring at each other's eyes, he heard a voice quip "Come on, kiss already you two!"

Ah, he'd missed that _so much_. He would have to make sure to give Derflinger a treat for that.

"P-Perverted Sword!"

Henrietta blinked. She was suddenly red faced. "I-It's alright..."

"Ah, her highness doesn't seem to be so averse to the idea!" Derflinger commented, as Louise struggled to lift the rather heavy weapon. "What do you say, partner?"

"To be honest, I had two friends just like you two." Negi commented, before setting his cup on the table. "... Actually, make that four... No, six... Okay, _nine_, I think... Depending on wether or not you count triangles. Now that I think about it, that's a lot of complicated relationships."

"Friends?" Louise asked, rolling her eyes. "More of your lovers, I imagine."

"As a matter of fact, yes."

Louise had no words for that one. "Oh my!" The sword quipped.

"A-All at once?" Henrietta, still red faced, turned to ask Negi.

"How many lovers did you actually have?" Louise's temper had flared again, though she was secretly thankful that there had been a topic change. Mostly because the idea was more appealing every second and it was starting to scare her. "How is that even possible?"

"... A gentleman doesn't talk about such things." Negi replied.

"Oh, but I am curious, Mister Negi."

"Yeah, Partner, I want to hear this one too."

"It's an order from your Master."

Negi sighed, then smiled. He was pleased the tension in the room was gone. "Okay... First, I will begin with a disclaimer. I am not proud of the title of 'Thousand Pimp'..."

Louise had never thought her familiar would be capable of such perversity. The tales he was giving them were prone to causing disbelief. After all, hearing about one single man who could attract so many women at once was ridiculous. Weren't it him, she might have called bullshit. Evidently, as his instant fangirls proved, he really was that sexy.

Hearing about him doing that exact same thing when he was ten was entirely unbelievable. If nothing else, at the very least they were exciting and well wrought tales of romance. His claims of having charmed them all unintentionally were even more unbelievable than anything else.

"But how can one love so many people at once?" Henrietta asked, enraptured with his tales.

"I guess I couldn't really explain. Everyone is a part of who I am. I gave them all a piece of my heart." Negi answered. "I really do miss them. But I know that they are not away. They are all with me in my heart. They're the glue that holds me together."

Louise seemed enchanted with his selfless devotion to his friends. She had gotten a taste of the lengths he was willing to go for a loved one. He would withstand any pain and carry any burden. He would take any amount of abuse and he would fight through the most impossible odds.

When the tale got to the part when his charm started working on the same gender, Louise had to press a napkin to her nose. She had once thought Kirche von Zerbst was the worst thing that had ever happened to decency.

Clearly, she had been wrong, if her familiar's tales were anything to go by.

It was an ermine named Albert Chamomille, who she had to blame for her familiar turning into an adorable little boy into... well, a manslut.

"And that's why I have these enchanted glasses." Negi said, touching the rim of the glasses with his pointer finger.

Henrietta looked really curious at that declaration. "What kind of enchantment could do that?" She asked. She wasn't certain how enchantments worked to begin with, as enchanters were folks who rarely divulged their secrets, so learning something new from that school of magic was always interesting.

"I don't believe it." Louise said. It just couldn't even be possi-

"Okay, we believe you." they chorused, as Negi put his glasses back on, heavy blushes on both of their faces, the abruptness of the moment spent in the most utterly shocked silence forgotten for a second.

"Partner, I don't know why, but I think the title 'Thousand Pimp' really fits you after all..."

* * *

It wasn't until much later that Henrietta decided to retire to her own bedroom. She hadn't wanted to be accompanied, but Louise insisted. Partly because she couldn't stand to look at Negi without blushing like a tomato. She would never be able to look at him the same way again.

It wasn't until much later that the princess decided to retire to her own prepared bedroom. She hadn't wanted to be accompanied, despite Louise's insistence in the matter, because she wasn't a crystal cup to be protected at all times. That, and she couldn't really stand to look at her childhood friend's familiar and not going red like a tomato. It would be hard to look at him the same way as she did before. Before, she had just thought him an intelligent, loyal magician of considerable power.

Now, he was all of that, but he was also a walking ball of charisma. Unfortunately for her, Negi was all too happy to oblige his master's request, since protecting people was kind of what he did all the time, and he had wanted to get a bit of fresh air anyway. Louise needed some time to calm down, too, so it had been an all around win-win situation for everyone. Henrietta might have protested a bit more if she had been less tired. As it was, she was thankful for the chance to have another chat with the familiar, because no matter what, he still was an intelligent individual with whom one could have a conversation.

He was also a living flashlight.

It soon became evident to him that the academy was a very nice sight during the night, if one could see it.

_Lux_ came in handy, although keeping a sustained light on the tip of his finger was kind of a chore, in lighting his path, and whatever he set his sights on. The spell wasn't originally designed to be held, so he had to make a few alterations to it on the fly. He could use the practice with his more basic spells, anyway. He flooded more power into the spell, because everyone knows that the Tim Taylor method is the way to go. If it doesn't work, then just add more power. If it works, then add more power anyway.

After working with Hakase, that sort of becomes second nature.

Surprisingly enough, adding more power simply made the light marginally brighter and increased its range. Applying his considerable control, he could alter the shape of the 'emitter' and could thus alter the form of the 'flashlight' that was his finger. He also amused himself by making shapes with the light, prompting a few giggles from his companion for the trip.

"Mr. Negi, " the formality was expected, as they were once again in public, though no one was around "do you intend to give a performance in the exhibition tomorrow?"

"To be honest... No." Negi said, more than a bit hesitant. "My more impressive spells would be too damaging to use so freely, and whilst I could use some of the less damaging ones..." He mentioned, scratching his chin.

"A mage with the ability to emit light from the tip of his finger without using fire is a rare sight. A familiar doing so is even rarer." Henrietta commented. "I am also rather curious about what you could come up with."

"I wouldn't want to have Master mocked by my inability to impress anyone with mundane abilities, Your Highness. I have firsthand knowledge of some of the more impressive acts that will be put on stage." Negi said, somewhat more calm. He was lying through his teeth. He could do something quite impressive, like making lightning dance. Heck, he could just transform into lightning and move a bit using Raisoku Shundou. He just... wasn't a showoff. "Nor would I want her to get in trouble for the destruction that I could possibly cause."

Henrietta smiled. "Maybe you can show us your abilities in private, some other time?" She commented. "I am sure Louise Françoise would be delighted to attend such a show."

It was kind of funny. "I think I have heard a similar proposition before, Your Highness. Although I don't think Miss Zerbst was talking about the same skills..." Even the princess recognized who 'Miss Zerbst' was, probably Louise had told her at some point.

It wasn't long before they settled into comfortable silence for a while, with Negi randomly illuminating things that caught his interest. "Freedom is one of the greatest treasures of life." Maybe she felt at ease. Maybe she felt she had found a similar soul. Maybe she just missed _him_ so much that simply having someone nearby who understood her was enough.

"Yet, even lives like ours have their rewards and treasures. For me, just seeing them smile is enough."

The comfortable silence had given way to a deeper understanding. The only sound in the entirety of the academy was the clicking of her heels and his own muffled steps. He might not be a ninja, but he did not make unnecessary noise in the night when everyone else was sleeping. That was a death sentence where he came from. The finger he was using as a flashlight being the only thing that was truly visible in the darkness, since they didn't need to look at each other and looking at what was in front of them was more important.

"Please, take care of Louise Françoise."

He smiled, and she smiled back. A simple, unspoken promise that had been given a voice redundantly.

He bowed and allowed the princess to retreat to her bedroom. Once alone, he walked through a gallery and stopped to set his sight on the two moons illuminating the starry night sky. Phobos and Deimos stared at him from the sky once more, and he found himself wondering if he'd ever be back. The moons weren't quite as beautiful as Mars'. They could never be.

Of course, he smiled and waved the vision of the martian moons away.

Because when a man keeps walking forward with his head held high, the world smiles on him. Just standing there and moping wouldn't solve the issue. He was almost certain he had the language down by now.

"Hello, Miss Tabitha. Are you enjoying your walk?" catching a spy red handed is not difficult when that spy allows herself to be caught.

She didn't have much to say. He didn't, either. They just spent the night staring at the distant astral bodies.

* * *

the DragonBard: Negi has plenty of sufficiently showy spells. Doesn't make him a showoff, and he really could do without adding fuel to the fangirls' fires.

And Negi knows very little of how their magic system works. He's only gained the bare knowledge of how some of their stuff works.

Trife: The water spirit... Eh, Negi's probably going to be confused about the whole thing. About how the hell it knows precissely what he is.

mdkcde (Anonymous Review): Well, again I hope that the rewrite fixes those issues. Also, rule of thumb is that each person's dialogue gets its own paragraph. I will NEVER let two people's dialogues be in the same paragraph, because that brings my piss to a boil, and it's one of the most infuriating flaws I see in otherwise good stories. I also generally try to make it clear who is talking.

The Ansem Man: I know it's a lot of words. But it's still 5 chapters, man. It's not like you haven't read longer stuff. Heck, Maestro's snippets are longer than my chapters, even counting the fact that the rewrites nearly double in word count.

Also, I'm generally trying to make it so that while Negi has a life that most would kill for, it's not just a bed of roses or a pleasure cruise. I consider it a challenge, but I think I'll pull through.

Hah. Henrietta and Louise, not having subtext? HAH!

Yue/Tiffania does seem to be an interesting concept, though...

SeanHicks4: I said that NEGI sees Deimos and Phobos. Doesn't mean it IS Deimos or Phobos in the sky.

Eveon: It's Chamo's fault that he's a pervert, I swear.

mdkcde: The joke is in the abruptness.

Guest (Anonymous Review): Okay, when THAT happens, I'll make sure to include an Omake of Negi's ultimate spell being Summon Ermine. Sheffield will never see it coming.

Akuma-Heika: The ring is only so resistant. In Darkest Void, when Tearing Earth and the Thousand Thunderbolts clashed, Negi was reduced to a fine pink mist... and he got right back up. He doesn't carry it on his person because anyone who would attack him is powerful enough to put the ring's integrity in danger, and he's too fond of it as a gift from Evangeline to endanger it. Evangeline thinks it's stupid, but since she's a Tsundere, she's actually flattered.

Arkanrium: Actually, Albireo got the glasses for him. Nobody knows where HE got them from. My money's on Kisuke Urahara...


	6. Dirt Hits The Fan

**Author's Note (You Know, that thing nobody reads):** As you can see, Chapter 6 actually received probably the biggest changes, since the prior version had a lot of people calling bullshit. I need to make this one more plausible. Someone once told me that a good author can make anything plausible. Well, it's time to see if I am anywhere near good enough to make something that most people claim bullshit on actually plausible.

Explanation for event which people are crying bullshit for at the bottom.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter Six: Chicks Dig The Giant Golem

Louise is not one to get angry, upset or anxious over little things.

Pff, yeah, right!

Except she really doesn't get angry. She gets utterly pissed. Normally. However, today was not a normal day, most decidedly, and thus it was a special occasion in which Louise was not angry, but rather a mixture of embarrassed and kind of disappointed in herself. While not uncommon feelings in her, as she was Louise the Zero, in such large quantities they were indeed rare.

She was in the backstage of the goddamn show that she was supposed to put on for the princess, and she wanted to do something impressive for her, but she couldn't, because she'd been busy acting like a scared little kid instead of the Valliere that she was. This was not okay. This was nowhere near okay. She paced back and fort, frantically, trying to scour her mind for an answer to this problem. She was supposed to be the one in control, and most of the time, she was the one who couldn't control herself.

At least this would leave a lesson to be learned, mused the pinkette absent mindedly. If she acted like a child, Karma would turn around and bite her.

They hadn't even agreed on anything to do, and she knew for a fact that he wasn't going to do anything without a direct order from her. He'd explained that he would rather not be a particularly notorious familiar. He spoke from the fact that he had enough trouble with the fangirls as it was, and becoming even more popular would be a migraine in the long run.

Louise didn't entirely care that she'd have to scare off a few annoying fangirls. Her explosions were (mostly) nonlethal, and she would take full advantage of that fact if need be.

She just wanted to put on an awesome show for the princess.

"Listen, just go out there and bow." She commanded, sighing. She figured that she might as well capitulate to his wishes. It wasn't as if she knew what he could actually do.

It kind of reminded her that she didn't know very much about her familiar, but she shelved that thought for later. She couldn't launch into an interrogation right now.

Negi frowned. "This is my fault, Master, if I had prepared for this, then..."

Louise shook her head. "I was the one that wasn't up to being your Master. I should have assumed you wouldn't know about that!" However, that didn't mean she was in a good mood, and to Negi, seeing her sad was worse than seeing her angry. "Besides, if you don't want to, then I guess I shouldn't force you." She wasn't dumb. She didn't want to alienate her familiar to the point that he turned on her. She had no illusions about her ability to truly control him, not so soon after he had shown what he was truly capable of.

The pinkette might act as if she was already way over it, but she still had the memory of her familiar's eyes, filled with hate, and the gruesome scene that he had painted in Lord Mott's mansion in blood. Louise was many things. Moronic wasn't one of them, in the long run, and for the moment she was playing it safe with her familiar. She didn't know how long his patience extended, but it had to be running thin by this point, considering all that she'd made him do. No matter how nice or patient he might be, everyone has a breaking point. If Negi got fed up and wanted to leave, Louise knew, oh she knew, that she had absolutely no way to stop him.

Then Negi remembered something. "Well, I am not very good with illusions, but..." He seemed to be thinking about something. "I am carrying a powerful illusory artifact on my person..."

Louise blinked. She wondered what he could be talking about. It took two seconds for her mind to return to a certain event that had transpired at the last evening. "No, absolutely not." She ordered, although it lacked the usual force behind it. Mostly because it wasn't so much an order as it was a petition. And she was conflicted as to whether or not she wanted to see it again. Maybe it'd help ease the memories from what his eyes had looked like that night, but even so... She could only explode so many people, and she had no doubts that, at the very least, Zerbst would jump her familiar instantly

"... Well, it _could_ be dangerous, Master, I agree." Negi admitted sheepishly, ignoring the sound of Sylphid's wings cutting through the wind. "But it's better than nothing, right?"

In the end, somehow, Negi had ended up discussing the particularities of what exactly the title 'Thousand Pimp' entailed with Derflinger on the stage. He didn't know what exactly people found funny about the conversation. But they did. There was also plenty of speculation about whether it was true or not, but most people dismissed the unbelievable claims when they heard them.

To Louise, it wasn't anything new to be laughed at. To Negi, it was. He didn't care, though, at least they were enjoying it... although he didn't know what It was. Getting laughed off the stage was uncomfortable either way. He wasn't used to being ridiculed... Okay, he was, but only by his class. It was funny, in hindsight, that his class were the only people in the planet who didn't respect him for being an incredible prodigy and one of the most powerful mages in the history of... well, history, but they'd actually seen him when he was still a ten years old kid. Maybe that had shown them that he was, indeed, human.

Most shonen heroes generally believe they are terrible at comforting people when they're really not, so they find an alternate way to cheering someone up rather than sit down and talk. Negi is not, however, the standard shonen hero and thus he actually knows that if he's got something, it's people skills. At some point in his career, he HAD to learn that he was better at dealing with people than most were. Charismatic people are generally good at that, yanno. Comforting an obviously distraught teenager was not beyond the realm of possibility for him.

Even if Louise was just as likely to blow him up as she was to cry since her nerves had to be at their limit. He at least had to do something about it.

He did find himself guilty at the fact that he could have probably done something damn impressive, and bring Louise's self esteem up. Maybe he should have, as now he wouldn't be feeling like a dick about it.

Both had wandered away from the crowds. Louise couldn't stand the thought of catching the princess' disappointed face by sheer accident, and thus she'd run away before the worst could happen. Apparently, she wasn't angry at him, since she wasn't shooing him away. Either that, or she was planning his doom. If it was the former, good. If it was the latter... seeing what she could come up with could indeed be fun.

He also found her pouting face utterly adorable, by the way.

* * *

"Louise, are giant golems a common sight around these parts?" Negi had asked. He hadn't been around long enough to really know.

For her part, Louise was a bit too busy gawking at the sheer enormity of the thing to notice the fact that her familiar hadn't referred to her as 'Master' as he usually did. Neither did she notice the fact that he looked not entirely displeased at the sight. Men like blowing stuff up, this is a true fact. And making something gigantic blow up is one of the biggest pleasures a man can ever have in life. Making something blow up while having sex is the biggest, by the way.

It is not every day, in fact, that you see a giant golem. These days, people go for smaller, slimmer, more agile and all around better. The thing was roughly as tall as the tallest building in the academy (although Negi was willing to bet that the ISSDA tower still dwarfed everything in Halkeginia), and just about as wide as that same tower was at its base... but only at the shoulders. It had comparatively small and compacted legs, which were a necessity given the fact that it was several tons of dirt packed into a golem's shape, and its badly proportioned arms were probably a balance hazard.

Negi kind of wanted to know if it would trip by swinging its fists too hard.

"Today is not your lucky day!" An unknown voice shouted from above, as the golem pulled its fist back. There was little time to lose. However big it might be, if it were too slow it would probably be useless, so he had to assume it was fast enough to be useful as a siege weapon.

The redhead narrowed his eyes and quickly grabbed Louise, barely getting out of the way in time. Shundou wasn't good for transporting other people, and thus he simply had to enhance himself as much as he could and as fast as he could to get Louise out of the way first. He had, however, gotten past the area where the fist impacted and where the shockwave of the sheer force of the hit was hardly felt at all. The ground still trembled under the tremendous physical might of the golem. The large creature made of dirt swept the ground, its giant fist heading for Negi's face.._._

Except he wasn't there. He had already jumped back, clearing a considerable distance, holding a still stunned Louise in his hands and gritting his teeth. That thing was no doubt trying to kill them. And since it was not a living being, but rather a non-sapient, non-sentient magical construct, he'd respond in kind.

The redhead deposited Louise carefully on the ground. "Louise, run!" He yelled, turning back to the large golem that was working on turning around. With a crack and a gust of powerful and cold wind that made any loose clothing flap in every direction, the familiar disappeared from in front of Louise. A second cracking sound and another gust of wind signalled his return, right in front of the massive golem's chest.

Louise could practically feel the power gathering in her familiar's right hand.

"Raikahouken!" the spot at which Negi's fist made contact exploded in a flurry of rock and lightning. The massive golem stumbled back a single step, and Negi capitalized to deliver another lightning powered fist into its chest, which seemed to finally send it tumbling down. There wasn't a hole in its chest, even though Negi was certain it should've been pulverized by that point.

"Partner, use me!" Derflinger nearly yelled. The sword, however, wasn't aware of as many facts as Negi was.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I just broke four fingers punching it, Derflinger, whatever it's made of, it's reinforced to be tougher than steel." Negi replied, as he fell, very slowly, back to the ground. "Can you cut through steel, Derflinger?" Negi asked, as he floated in the air.

"Depends." Derflinger answered. "Can you?" It asked.

Negi grinned at his weapon. Okay, he had a way to kill it if necessary. For now, he needed to know if Louise had gotten over the shock of almost dying just seconds ago... She hadn't. She was still more a frightened rabbit than she was a mage. And right now, he didn't quite have the time to find it adorable. Her fear had rooted her to the spot. Had made her a vulnerable liability.

For a moment, Negi cursed the fact that he was now too used to being surrounded by females who would've probably socked him across the face if he told them they needed his protection. He was already prepared to grab her and take her somewhere safe, before he returned to deal with the golem. He could always just use Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens, if Derflinger proved incapable of cutting through it. He was a bit distracted considering his options. He had thought the golem had been stunned.

Negi was rusty. If he hadn't been, he might've remembered that you cannot knock out a golem. Golems don't get tired. They don't care about wounds. So, of course, the golem would've just continued with its task regardless of any problems it might run into. Thus, Negi allowed himself to be distracted, like a moron, thinking it couldn't be that dangerous to do so.

Of course it was. If you have ever played God Of War 2, then you know exactly what is going to happen. The golem did not need to be standing to swing its arm like a gigantic club at the slowly falling human that had knocked it down. Since Negi was turned around, he never saw it coming, either. His reflexes were attuned to facing magical enemies. Magical enemies who depended on enhancing their physical faculties with their power to have superb strength.

So, his reflexes erected barriers that could've stopped that kind of enemy. They worked, to an extent, doing exactly what they were supposed to do, stripping the magic that held the fist together before it hit him. However, it was still several tons of rock, being thrown at him with the force that the golem's swing had imparted, and he only had physical barriers meant to block low grade physical attacks. They shattered like crystal under the massive force the dirt carried, and it continued as if the barriers hadn't even been there.

If Negi hadn't been a gentleman, he might've let out a curse as the disintegrating fist struck him and sent him rocketing to the ground and a decent distance away. At that point, Louise snapped out of her stupor. She was beyond shocked and beyond pissed. She had no time at all, to dwell on the recent events.

No time to dwell on the possibility of her being the reason why her familiar had just been killed, because she had been useless instead of supporting him in combat. She could've exploded that fist before it struck him. She could've called out to him the moment she saw the golem moving. But she'd been too weak. She'd been too much of an useless little girl to be allowed to be on the battlefield in combat.

Rage helps one focus, apparently, as Louise felt that fill her. The pinkette might be a terrible mage incapable of performing even the most basic of spells, since everything she tries explodes, but at that moment, that suited her fine. She wanted to blow it right the fuck up, anyway. So she began chanting. The golem wasn't paying her attention at all.

She didn't blame it, because, who the hell would pay attention to the stupified little girl?

It would still pay for that mistake, though. "FIREBALL!" Cried the pinkette. It had been just a couple seconds of chanting. Nothing too impressive should have happened, right?

Before I answer that question, I have to explain something. Rage-brought focus has a rather major downside, that being that normally, you don't act reasonably, you act rashly. You don't take a moment to steady yourself, to make yourself stop trembling and to point the goddamned wand to the chest of the GIANT ASS GOLEM RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. Louise, as a result, had aimed terribly.

It wasn't too much of a problem, as her rage had also allowed to circumvent it entirely.

A huge explosion ripped apart both the chest of the golem, leaving a huge crater in it, as well as the wall of the tower at the golem's chest level, which was now missing entirely.

Just a little mistake, though

"Damn!" Yelled an unknown voice. The golem recovered swiftly, stumbling back and slowly regenerating the dirt on its chest. It didn't need to recover from its 'wound' to slowly turn around and make its fist fly at Louise.

The force of the impact almost knocked her back, but it was mostly redirected so that it went just past her without touching her. The barrier crashed like glass upon impact, but several others took its place, enough that when the fist did make it to Negi, his enhanced physical strength was enough to stop it. "I told you I could cut it." Derflinger commented, as the golem pushed them back. Negi's right hand fell limp at his side, while the other held the sword in place. "You should trust me more, partner!"

Negi would've chuckled. The sword had, indeed, dug into the Golem's fist, and if Negi's arm weren't broken, it probably would've gone further in.

Glowing lines. Strange patterns. Her familiar's back was strange. The lines ran all across his body, from his lower back to the tips of his knuckles, and even up his neck and into his face. Heck, the lines of light seemed to actually feed into Derflinger, which glowed slightly but was otherwise unaffected.

Louise hadn't ever been happier to see her familiar, weird as he was. "Louise, whoever told you you have no magic potential didn't know what they were talking about..." Negi commented, a strained smile on his bloodied face. And only then did she notice that the pattern of the flamelike lines all across his body was also present in his eyes. It was... kind of creepy and awesome, actually. "That was incredible."

Yep, she hadn't ever been happier to see her familiar. To hear him was even better. She didn't even bother being embarrassed about blushing like a schoolgirl in love after that.

"However, I can barely move." It wasn't a lie. Just using Shundou to get to her location had already taxed his body beyond what it could take. The golem had just hit him so hard his head was still ringing. Not to mention, that impact had almost reduced the bones in his arms to jello. Overall, he wasn't feeling well. He wasn't sure what was holding him together and why the hell his regeneration hadn't kicked in and fixed his arms yet. There was something wrong. Magia Erebea should have activated by now.

There was something odd. It wasn't like usual. When the darkness held him together, it was easier to move, and it was easier to unleash powerful magic. Right now he felt weaker than usual, instead of stronger. So it probably wasn't the darkness. Still, Negi decided to ignore these concerns.

He had been told he had an one track mind. Well, he did. For the moment, it was Louise, or rather, protecting her, which was the major priotiy in his mind.

With one barely capable of moving and the other incapable of hitting the broad side of a barn, the controller of the golem was left free to do what she wanted to do. She would question how someone could even begin to survive _two_ hits later.

"Master... I can stop it... But I will need you to listen to me very carefully. I need you to pull my right arm back and point my palm away from us." The pinkette did as commanded, not in the mood for questioning him. He was, actually, mildly angry at the thing that had dared strike at his master, and he wasn't feeling particularly merciful lately. The accumulated strain on his nerves was something that the poor golem had added to, and if he had to be honest... Negi was going to relieve a bit of stress. He had done much of that at Mott's mansion, but now... now he wanted to relieve stress as any man does.

Through f*cking overkill.

_"Dios Logche: Titanoktonon!"_

The golem's owner was leaving, riding in the massive creature's hand. For such a bulky and huge thing, it could move fairly fast. Clumsily, of course. Once it was past the academy's wall, the golem lowered its hand and continued walking forward.

Louise had a clear idea of what to do when she was holding his arm. The order was completely unneeded.

A truly gigantic two pronged spear of solidified lightning struck its chest. It was practically the perfect size for the golem to use as a weapon. Too bad it was currently impaling it from the back.

It stumbled, for reals this time, several steps forward. When its knees buckled, the ground shook, and Louise almost dropped Negi. Louise's eyes nearly bulged out at seeing the GIGANTIC FUCKING LIGHTNING SPEAR that was sticking out of the damnable thing's chest.

"Hold my hand steady, Master!" Louise nodded, although it was hard considering he was much larger than herself. _"Emittens Dios Logche, Khiliplen Astrapen Producam!"_

By the time the thief had started to run, the thing exploded into a million molten pieces as one thousand thunderbolts exploded.

"The hell was that, partner?" Derflinger asked, and if it'd had eyes, they would be bulging out of their sockets, just as Louise's were.

Negi merely smiled in satisfaction as the chunks of molten rock stopped moving.

The golem was gone. Its rider was nowhere to be seen. Negi, leaning a bit too much on Louise for either of their likings, felt his strength dwindle once more. He pushed Louise away and stumbled to his knees, Derflinger clattering away. His arms prevented him from falling to the ground completely. Barely.

Vomiting blood was a horrible experience. He had never quite gotten used to the taste of bile combined with blood.

Louise gasped in horror as she saw the familiar who had just displayed immense power empty his stomach's contents. The moment it stopped flowing, having already made a pool under him, he began coughing.

More and more blood came out.

"Chunks... of bone... in lungs." He said, between bouts of coughs.

Louise was frantically scrambling for a water mage. Her familiar couldn't die. He was so powerful, so strong, he'd reduced a giant golem to a mountain of molten dirt with just one spell! He'd taken two devastating attacks in her place! It was her fault he was as he was wounded, to begin with, so she would NOT let him die like this!

"D-Don't..." He called, coughing severely again. His voice raspy, a reminder of his condition "W-Worry, Master."

And the bastard tried to smile. Why did he always have to smile? This was not something to smile about! Dammit, especially not that kind of smile! "Shut up! I'll worry all I want! You can't die! I won't let you die!" She was completely out of it, she tried to hold him still, as if it would help any. The impotence was filling her with frustration. The flamelike pattern across his body dulled, and finally disappeared.

"I... I'll... be fine..."

It was that same beatific smile, the one that promised that everything would be alright. Warm, kind, loving. The smile that a kind, loving older sibling could give to make the sadness and loneliness go away in an instant.

It was with that smile that he fell.

Tears began rolling down Louise's cheeks when silence fell. The silence was deafening. Even the sound of Sylphid landing was something that registered only in the far distance.

Tabitha's eyes widened a fraction of an inch, before she turned to Louise. "Still breathing."

Such a short sentence. As brief and compact as everything Tabitha said. It was more than enough to make Louise want to hug her.

* * *

No one found anything that would give up the thief's whereabouts. There were at the very least a good dozen extremely skilled mages going over the wreckage and nobody could find anything. Osmond would have chalked it up to amateurism had he not gone over the situation himself and found he was just as stumped as everyone else.

All that was left was a pile of dirt and molten rock (that was beginning to cool just now). That last one was hard to wrap their minds about. Eyewitness Tabitha had confirmed that whatever the hell that spell was, it had been lightning. A giant two pronged of lightning that pierced straight through a gigantic golem and then exploded, taking said golem with it. Lightning constructs were rarely ever solid, mostly because it was one of the harder elements to control. It was just too quick and too violent to control it so precisely.

It was why lightning mages were just content with zapping stuff.

Colbert was wondering how that was even beginning to make the slightest bit of sense, and he'd seen how creative one could get with spells personally. Nothing short of something amazing had transpired. The only thing he rescued out of the whole debacle was that all of his doubts about Valliere's familiar were cleared right then and there.

If nothing else, the man was worthy of respect and admiration. A familiar who would willingly take a direct hit from a giant golem for the sake of his master deserved, at the very least, that. The man had been telling the truth when he'd spoken about his devotion to protecting those he cared about. Then again, if he was correct, then the man was bloody immortal so taking a few lethal shots for others was... less than it would be from someone who WOULD die from those.

It must still be excruciatingly painful. Especially when the way he'd wanted to go over removing the chunks of ribs in his lungs was to have someone find a way to keep his chest open and then grab them one by one. Unnecessary, when water magic could be used to dissolve them.

Still, the loss of the staff was unexpected. The vault was the most secure place for it to be held, and simple brute force shouldn't have done what it did. The tower had a large chunk missing that seemed to have been ripped off, not punched in. It merited further investigation, and both Colbert and Osmond knew better than to trust subordinates with it. There were very few nobles that were worthy of the trust necessary to deal with such a matter, after all.

* * *

"I'm really surprised it was Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt!" Kirche spoke, as she sat dangerously close to Negi's designated bed. The familiar had been left in pretty bad shape by the Golem's punches, but he'd recovered in record time, even if they didn't want to let him go out. He was fine. He'd be fine even if he was missing a chunk from his chest, dammit. That fact still made Louise's mind take leaps and leaps, because it knew the world below made absolutely no sense. Apparently, when he said he'd be fine, he really was telling the truth.

Not long ago, most of his bones had been broken and he'd been stopped halfway before he could begin removing the chunks of bone from his lungs. He just needed someone to hold him open while he removed them, dammit. He was in a position that would have rendered anyone else fully immobile, yet now he was sitting in his bed and talking with everyone like he'd just woken up of a particularly long nap. Actually, he looked better than usual, considering how little he slept. On one hand, it was confusing.

On the other, Louise just let it go and resigned herself to the comfort of knowing her familiar was alright. And that he was powerful as all hell. Her familiar had awoken apparently not too long ago, and the maid who had volunteered to watch over him was gone to fetch him a new set of clothes.

"I never saw her." Negi commented, smiling sheepishly. "My priorities weren't there." Given what he'd done, it was to be expected.

"Covered." Tabitha said, not looking up from her book.

"Ah, how boring!"

"Boring?" Louise's eyes narrowed. "She almost killed my familiar and you think this is boring?" she hadn't raised her voice one bit. The tone, carrying more rage and venom than ever before, shook Kirche quite noticeably. That was a topic Kirche had decided was not something Louise would take as a joke.

Negi looked up at Louise from where he was sitting. She hadn't noticed she was standing. There was a silent plea in his eyes. _Let it go_. She wouldn't deny him a request when he was bedridden. "I'm just glad nobody was hurt." Negi said, rubbing a still sore spot on his side. His ribs hadn't fully snapped into place yet, because they kept thinking he was human and had thus used a spell to try to realign them, which had conflicted with his own natural regeneration and making it slower. At least, he assumed that was the reason. He'd been unconscious when they used it and hadn't been able to tell them to just let it heal naturally.

The fact that they had knocked him unconscious to do it to begin with only further annoyed him.

Louise lit up when she heard a multitude of footsteps coming in. Only a single person carried such an entourage with her.

"Louise Françoise!" And her voice was still one of the most soothing sounds in the world. "Thank god you are alright!" Her guards had politely (most likely on her orders) remained outside the door.

Kirche was treated to another shock as the princess hugged Louise, who at this point was a blushing, blabbering mess that melted like putty under the princess' arms.

"I apologize." Negi began, his tone serious. "If I had been paying attention, I could have prevented this. If I had taken the golem seriously from the start, I could have easily defeated it and stopped Fouquet from running away. This is my fault." he would have kneeled, but his lower body was still mostly unresponsive from the anesthetics (that he didn't need, but had been given anyway, and would need a few minutes to clear out from his body, normally, but with his regeneration impaired from who knew what...)

She shook her head. "It was not your responsibility, Mr. Familiar." The formality was kind of annoying, but it was a given that she would revert to it in public. "I am just glad you are mostly unharmed."

He smiled. A smile halfway between charming and simply comforting. "It is, however, my fault. I had more than enough power to stop it. I underestimated it. Really, one of my mid-level spells would've sufficed to destroy it."

Kirche had to sit down for a minute, trying to process everything that was going on. Terrible envy struck her of Tabitha, who could find solace in her book while the world stopped making sense. Apparently, Louise knew the Princess. And so did Negi. Enough that there was a sort of familiarity between them. They seemed to be friends, at least.

"Your Highness, we must hurry." One of the knights, a rather large man with blond hair, spoke, his voice heavy through the door. He did sound like he was pleading the princess to see reason. He had a good reason to. Henrietta rarely did see reason when Louise was involved.

"I must report what has occurred to the palace. I wish we could meet again, Louise, Mr. Familiar."

Kirche turned to Louise. "You know the princess?"

A long story involving lots of yuri overtones was told. Louise denied any possibility of romantic involvement as she spoke.

Meanwhile, Kirche went "I knew it!"

Louise sighed. Whatever that Zerbst thought, she was tired and right now, she wouldn't bother fighting tooth and nail to deny it. "I just hope that the princess does not have to take responsibility for this..."

Negi turned to her. "It's never that easy." He commented. He knew.

"Lately, I have heard many bad rumors from the court." Louise spoke, forgetting who she was sharing the room with.

"... So have I." Kirche's comment was a given. "From a reliable source, in fact." Okay, that had been unexpected. Louise had thought that the Germanian would've taken the chance to go on a tirade about how the Tristainians went about looking down on Germanians for their lesser inhibitions, instead of simply agreeing with her.

She ignored the fact that she had almost instinctively denied the reliability of her sources, for now anyway.

"Even though I can't do anything, I'm worried."

Negi placed a hand on top of her head. Easy given she was sitting right next to the bed and she was as small as she was. "The princess is strong." He said, a comforting smile on his face. "And if she ever feels weak, you will always be there for her. That is what you can do, Master."

Louise looked up at him, feeling like a child again. "Negi..."

"I am your familiar, Master, I will always stand with you. Through the good, the bad and the ugly."

Louise smiled. "Thank you, Negi."

She was really cute when she smiled, she had to do it more often.

Kirche ruined the moment instantly by making it a group hug. Flustered as she was, however, Louise didn't care much about that.

* * *

Louise was in a foul mood the next morning. Mostly because Kirche seemed as upbeat as ever, and that caused wonderful motions. But let's not talk about jiggle physics now. The rest was caused because she was still worried sick of her familiar.

And because that maid had seemed awfully close to him when she left him to rest and recover...

"I'm bored of all this studying." Such a flimsy justification to spend the free hour they'd been given by courtesy of Colbert not showing up doing god knows what to the onlookers. Everyone seemed mesmerized by the movements of the twins. "With all this commotion about Fouquet, there's no time for a lecture."

Well, at least that was something Louise could agree with. It wasn't an unjustified absence. After all, the ones that had pretty much disregarded the vault were the school. Not that she particularly minded, protecting the princess was top priority, anyway. "I know."

There was a problem, though. "Three are rumors that the princess will have to take responsibility."

And Louise understood why. As any noble worth their salt, she'd been taught the basics of politics. The merest basics, anyway. "It's stupid. The princess had nothing to do with leaving the vault unguarded."

"Fouquet got in because the normal guard had been taken to protect her." It was rare to see Kirche actually serious for a change, but it was not an unwelcome sight. "Several officials tried to stop her from doing so, but it seems she chose to come anyway." And whilst it was a dumb move as a regent, at least Kirche could respect that much. She wouldn't be capable of respecting a ruler that was easily bullied into place, after all.

Colbert came rushing into the classroom. "Miss Valliere, Miss Tabitha" and several people noticed nobody had actually _ever_ heard Tabitha's surname... "Come to the headmaster's office right now." He seemed to be in quite a hurry... or simply out of breath from running.

Louise felt weird walking there without her familiar's shadow behind her. It was like not carrying her wand with her to a battlefield.

The school's teachers were assembled and formed, which wasn't an odd sight. Seeing Old Osmond not act like a perverted jackass for once just rubbed in the gravity of the situation, because THAT was one hell of an odd sight.

For some reason, nobody was kicking Kirche out, though Louise let it go. As long as she kept quiet, she could be ignored, anyway, boobies be damned. "After obtaining information in town, there are reports of a suspicious person being seen running into the forest, into an abandoned shack." Longueville stated, her head making a pass as it looked over the students and teachers, then making sure there wasn't a mouse trying to peek under her skirt. One never knew with the old man, even if he appeared serious.

"It's amazing how fast Ms. Longueville gathers information." Osmond spoke, clear relief in his voice. Kirche, being a master at reading people, did detect an undercurrent of someone else, but the old man was good, too, and had been capable of hiding it to the point Kirche only noticed because she was paying careful attention.

"Out of the reports given, I drew this to the best of my ability..." Longueville continued, handing Old Osmond a rolled scroll. Everyone had to admit, she was a good artist for having drawn that in such short notice and with the likely vague descriptions she could have been given. Kirche realized what Old Osmond had probably conveyed when he spoke before, and she repressed the need to smirk.

"What do you think?" Osmond asked the two witnesses.

"Exact match." Tabitha said, not raising her voice the slightest bit. Louise nodded. Unlike her familiar, she'd actually been aiming at the small figure in the golem's shoulder. Negi had been too preocuppied with destroying the golem to do anything about its rider.

"That is Fouquet, there's no mistaking it." Louise agreed.

And that nearly sealed the deal.

"We should report this to the royal court immediately and ask for reinforcements." Colbert spoke, sounding not entirely concerned, something odd for the balding teacher.

"If we lose time doing that, then Fouquet will see it coming." Osmond corrected. "We must recover the staff of destruction and bring it back to the academy while the thief is hiding."

Colbert actually agreed with this.

He then opened his eyes and looked over the teachers. "Those who agree with me, raise your wands." No teacher did so. For Colbert, it would've been complicated anyway, given he was actually carrying a staff in his hands, and it wasn't a battlestaff. "What is the problem?" he asked. "None of you wish to gain fame for capturing Fouquet?" Fucking cowards.

Of course, Louise raised her wand immediately after the mission was stated. "I will go." She said, determined as ever.

"Miss Valliere?" Colbert asked, tilting his head. "Isn't your familiar wounded?" He thought she would actually prefer to stay with him.

"Yes." And to anyone who had any ability to read subtext, her intentions were clear. For the sake of clarity, I'll translate them to common, every day speech. 'Bitch hurt my familiar and Imma spank her, yo'.

"I'll go too!" Kirche jumped into the bandwagon rather hastily. Something that surprised Louise. Despite her behavior, Kirche didn't often stick her neck out for the axe to come down. "I won't lose to a Valliere!"

"Zerbst..." Although it was hard to get mad at her, for some reason. Stupid boob monster.

"Tabitha..?" Kirche was left somewhat perplexed by how Tabitha had joined them without having had to convince her. "You don't have to."

"Worried about you." She replied, in her usual extremely low tone. She may not have blushed at this, but Kirche still ruffled her hair.

"Thank you." Oddly enough, Louise seemed to be blushing when she said so. A certain specific event came back to her, although she decided to block from her memory at the moment.

"Then, you three..." Osmond began, as he considered his options. "I'm counting on you."

He then gave them another once over. "Miss Tabitha, even though you are young, you received the title of Chevalier..."

Two jaws fell. "Really?" two mages asked in unison. Disturbingly synchronized unison.

She just nodded in response, as if it wasn't a big deal.

"On top of that, Miss Zerbst comes from a family with an illustrious military past." To be quite frank, Osmond seemed a bit giddier than usual that evening. "I have heard you are a powerful fire mage yourself." he added. And 'I have heard' became 'I know', because Kirche had no illusions about the headmaster being an old coot incapable of seeing past his nose. She made no secret of her rather considerable prowess with fire magic.

He turned to Louise. "Miss Valliere..." He began, growing serious almost instantly. "You also come from a family that has given great magicians." Louise smirked in pride at the praise. "However..."

Colbert coughed, seeing the fact that Louise had narrrowed her eyes.

"You have great potential, although your aim appears skewed." Osmond grew jovial again. "I believe some experience in battle could fix that."

Louise tilted her head. How did he actually know that? Colbert was whistling an innocent tune.

"However, your familiar is an enigma to all of us."

"That's right, he is the legendary gand-" Colbert stopped suddenly breaking into a (very) fake coughing fit.

"In either case, he appears to be a powerful mage of his own accord." Osmond continued. "While this is unheard of for Familiars, I believe this is just another asset. Our academy is counting on you."

"Old Osmond, " It was kind of funny to hear Longueville refer to him like that "I could accompany them as their guide."

"Would you, Miss Longueville?" He didn't seem too pleased with his nickname, but he still appeared as cordial as ever. However, inside, Kirche could tell the old man was smiling. So this was it, then?

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Negi Springfield knew where his specialty lay. He had often been told that the one thing that had permitted him to catch up to the great monsters of his world was a simple one. One that he was now abusing for all it was worth. His highest ability lay not in combat, but on the work table. Granted, he had a pitiful excuse for a work table, but it would do anyway. Louise's desk was tinier than what he could procure in a plane he could control with his mind.

He was starting to miss Evangeline's Scroll. That had been the best few days of his life, in regards to magical study. He had infinite resources then.

At least the language was simple enough when he actually managed to decipher what every symbol stood for. A helpful nurse had given him a basic rundown on it. If he weren't as impossibly good with languages as he was, then he would probably still be unable to read complicated texts. It resembled archaic French at first glance, but a deeper look had pretty much confirmed his suspicion that while spoken it was the same, written it seemed to be very different. It was amusing, really, how the written and spoken parts of the language differed so greatly. He'd have to treat them as separate languages in his mind, so as to not get things confused.

The symbols were ornate and could probably be simplified, there had to be a way to write faster, because it'd take forever with a pen. He'd ask Louise about it later, for the moment he was running through all the material on the summoning ritual he could gather.

If there was a way in, there was a way out. He didn't particularly enjoy the prospect of leaving Louise alone to fend for herself, but he had too much to do. Besides, she could presumably just summon him back.

However, everything he read just described the theological meaning behind the ritual and how to perform it. Manipulation of willpower? He wasn't really surprised to see that it went against everything he'd been taught. Although Rakan could probably make sense of it. None of it's properties were described in much detail, though.

And he was certain Louise had a veritable library on that subject alone. He'd have to find higher sources. Derflinger, despite being quite old from his own admission, wasn't a great source of information either. Because the damnable sword knew how to read and hadn't mentioned it. At least it was helping Negi when he came to a symbol he couldn't decipher or a word that made no sense with the rules that he'd managed to extrapolate from the written text, as well as fixing up Negi's wrong assumptions.

The sword was very much surprised by how fast Negi grasped the whole language.

He was surprised when an arm was placed on his shoulder, startling him out of his concentration. "You're working hard." A cup of tea was served to him from above.

"Thank you, Chachamaru."

He faltered. Blinked. Then looked up to a confused maid. "I... I'm sorry." He said. "I was just distracted..."

Siesta tilted her head, confused. "What is a 'Chachamaru'?"

… She was less taken aback with the explanation than he'd expected.

"So, your secretary and lover?"

"One of them, yes." He admitted, feeling the urge to fidget right now.

"Partner, one of these days, you ought to tell me how many there were." Derflinger commented.

"Secretaries or lovers?"

Turns out, Siesta was surprisingly pleasant company. One thing he'd learned was that speaking your problems out loud can help you find a way around them, and Siesta was lending him an ear, so why not? Granted, by the time the study session had ended, he only had one clear lead in.

He'd need a noble test subject to check one of his theories.

The other things that had come up were rather simple. After probing from Siesta, he'd entertained a given thought. Could commoners actually learn magic? Siesta was quite eager to be a test subject for that one theory. Actually, he was certain commoners could. Just not halkeginian magic.

And after that one, he wondered if he could actually help Louise with her own magic. Their systems were completely different. However, basic problems he could help with. If it was her overpowering her spells, it'd be easily fixed. If she was truly incapable of using magic that required incantations, then there were other ways she could use magic. He couldn't teach her Kanka, but he could teach her the basics of ki use (which he actually suspected was similar to what Halkeginian mages used).

It'd take a while to teach her, but he'd use the time to gain a deeper understanding of the magic system she used. And Negi was a sucker for learning new things.

He'd wasted far more than enough time already. If his plan had once worked to make an alliance between Mundus Magicus and Earth, then surely, he could make it work again. He just needed to find a way to build his own gateport. And to gain influence with the rulers of this world. And to find a decent tailor to make him a new suit, because he already missed the one that had been destroyed against the golem.

That last one, he realized, would probably be the most difficult.

* * *

"Where..."

Negi was worried. He was supposed to meet with his master after class. More than anything, he was curious as to whether or not she could use another magical system. He found Colbert organizing his papers in the classroom and no one else.

"Didn't Miss Valliere inform you?" Colbert narrowed his eyes. He'd assumed she'd at least tell him. Also, wasn't he supposed to be in bed? He knew the mage in front of him was immortal, but god damn, that was fast. "She joined an expedition with Miss Tabitha and Miss Zerbst to hunt for the thief Fouquet. They left not too long ago."

Negi's brain made the connection. Fouquet. A powerful earth mage capable of summoning a Golem that was _very_ tough. Louise, a mage with great power and talent but a strange inability to use magic. The odds were heavily against her. However, Kirche had admitted to being a mage of some power herself, and had explained that Tabitha wasn't precisely weak either.

"Can you tell me where they were headed? I need to find my master." He said, smiling slightly. "I have to speak with Master about not bringing her familiar to a fight."

And give her a lecture on going off on her own. Hey, if _he_ learned the lesson, then she could, too. He'd also make sure she wouldn't have to learn the hard way, and for the moment, he just hoped she was less stubborn than he.

* * *

_Quite a few minutes earlier_

The trip didn't take too long to bore them. At least Louise got a little insight into Longueville's character. Seemed she owed Old Osmond something big for giving her a job despite being a disgraced noble.

Zerbst was annoying the whole way through. The constant poking fun at her relationship with the princess, and even with her own familiar, would get old very fast. On the flipside, Tabitha had endeared herself to the pinkette by whacking Kirche on the head with her staff when she got a bit too physical in her demonstrations. Seemed she wasn't only worried for their safety in combat, if that was anything to go by.

Hey, if it maintained a modicum of decency, she wouldn't complain about the silence. It lasted all of two seconds before Kirche once again began graphically describing what she intended to do to Negi once he was fully recovered.

"So... what do you intend to do if there is another golem?" Kirche asked, smiling slyly.

"Obviously, I will use magic!" Louise snapped, in that same manner she always did.

"Magic?" Then Kirche seemed to be thinking for a second. "Don't make me laugh. What do you plan to do, Louise the Zero?"

"Make it explode, obviously." Louise spoke, a smirk on her face. She had wanted to say 'I'll blow it the fuck up', but she was a noble and nobles don't talk like that. Her magic might always end up in violent explosions, but right now, it was just what she needed it to be. She just needed to Fireball the crap out of it, and this time, she'd hit it.

"... Sounds good." Kirche admitted. It was just too convenient that Louise's magic, or the failure at the attempt of magic, seemed tailor made for destruction. Tabitha looked at Kirche with a deadpan expression on her face. "Yeah, I don't know where I was going with that one, either."

The only real thing Tabitha had to say about the trip is that she really wished she'd brought a book along. Well, you know how she is when it comes to speaking. It would've probably been much briefer is she'd said it.

* * *

It was simple. She had to stand guard outside and wait for Fouquet to show up while Kirche and Tabitha searched the shack and Longueville looked around.

So of course everything had to go to hell by having a Giant Golem be made under her feet.

Today wasn't a nice day, either.

* * *

Again, I'll make it clear.

Rakan punches harder than the golem. However, Negi's barriers strip Rakan of the magical component of his strength, which reduces it considerably. No matter how you look at it, they aren't Saiyans, who really are that strong physically. They need to use their magic to strengthen themselves.

The golem was a giant chunk of rock and, even without magic, see what flinging several tons of compacted dirt does to a building.

Now, It's Review answering time!

Actually, fuck that, most people are complaining about that exact same thing. The story explains it already, and I'm not gonna go over it again.

Also, I laugh when you guys tell me I'm enslaving myself to the canon plotline, when it's actually a difference here. Saito was uninjured by the golem in the canon, and went with the girls and Fouquet, where here, Negi remained behind because Louise thought he was still wounded (which he isn't) and thus didn't tell Negi (being, well, Louise). One of the few times in the earlier parts where I differed from the canon and people are actually saying I'm sticking too close to it?

Negi is not a fighting god, people. He's not a frikkin' Saiyan, who train non stop their entire lives because fighting is what they live for. He has spent the last six years without a single serious fight. Not to mention, the golem caught him unaware and unprepared because he was distracted, thinking he had a moment of respite since the damn thing had been knocked down. The whole fight scene had Negi dominating until he made a mistake and it cost him. That's how fights work. You make a mistake and the enemy capitalizes on it. The golem was, at no point, better than Negi, or Rakan. Seriously, Negi is not invincible, and he CAN be defeated by someone weaker than himself if he does something stupid, like he did here.

Getting overconfident is a huge mistake.

Do y'all expect him to go Raiten Taisou 2 and curbstomp everything and everyone he comes across? What is the point in reading a story where there is no conflict, because the main character instantly defeats everyone? What's the point in writing it? Wish fulfilment, I'd guess, but since Negi is not a self insert of mine, that'd be pointless. Evangeline would've frozen the golem on sight, yes, but Negi wouldn't have. Negi has this problem where he unconsciously holds back. See him getting defeated by Fate's harem in the gravekeeper's palace. He could've blitzed them in under a second, but he didn't, and that is CANON. And he WAS in lightning form then.

Evidently, this has precedent in canon Negima, so, yeah, all of you who are crying bullshit are crying bullshit on Akamatsu too.

Besides, it's a plot point.


	7. The Advent Of Lightning

**Author's Note: I have bad news. This is the last chapter that will be posted with my current speed. Next will be in a week. Why? Holy Week is over, and that means I have no longer entire free days. I have to work some time too.  
**

I guess 'tis about time I gave a clear, concise and lengthy explanation. If you don't need to hear it or figured it out in your own, I suggest you skip this.

Let me explain it: Negi is NOT a tank. In the sports festival arc you can see what he is without his magical reinforcement, a normal, if highly athletic, ten years old boy. His body, unless transformed, is perfectly human. You are overestimating his toughness when Magia Erebea is 'off'.

The injuries he sustained from the punch aren't insanely severe. The problem is that it broke his right arm and punched his ribs in. If he activated Magia Erebea, he would have stood up and continued to fight. And in fact, he did. When he was no longer using it, the injuries paid tax and he was knocked out. And the reason why Negi uses Titanoktonon instead of just Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens'ing its ass is simple. Why not? That thing was trying to kill one of his friends.

Negi cannot instantly transform into Lightning Form. He needs a few seconds to do it. See his fight with Evangeline. He gets hit when Asuna distracts him. This time, he was distracted by being focused on protecting Louise and assuming the Raikahouken had knocked it back. It did, but I borrowed a page from God Of War's book and had the golem hit him anyway.

He is used to fighting opponents that heavily enhance themselves with magic to be able to produce such ridiculous amounts of strength. Not even Evangeline's vampiric strength is that powerful. That is why he only had that kind of barrier prepared. I'm going by the explanation of how his normal barriers work that was given when he fought Kotaro. Without magic enhancing the fist, all his barriers did was shatter uselessly in it's path. And again, when he actually has physical barriers prepared, he actually stops the attack. And here, when he's actually prepared and already in lightning form, the golem stands no chance in hell.

And there is one thing everyone seems to be overlooking. Negi admits he didn't take it seriously. If he had, he would have utterly destroyed it in half a second without problem. He is used to curbstomping stronger opponents, so he underestimated a simple golem.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 7: Just A Little Mistake

Kirche had one simple priority. Deal with that thing before that thing dealt with them. Not an easy task, but simple enough to work with. The thing had easily ripped the ceiling off the abandoned shack and was now staring down at them.

No matter how fast Kirche's own reflexes were, it seemed Tabitha would always react faster. Her chant was almost completely inaudible, but the power that the tornado she conjured carried was undeniable. The golem, however, didn't agree and blocked it by simply standing perfectly still.

In one of those miracles that tend to happen, in which the rules of physics are forgotten for a moment, Kirche's Fire somehow managed to set it on fire. Granted, it was covered by a layer of grass, but that should have just shriveled up and been consumed by the high temperature blast. Nevertheless, it still shook the fire off like it was nothing.

Never being a pair to easily surrender, they were already moving out of the house before its fist came crashing down. Tabitha noticed something fairly obvious. The golem was slower and clumsier in its movements. It was obviously following a directive rather than actually obeying direct commands. Only a bonus, given that even so the thing was frightening.

There was no doubt about it, Fouquet was a fearsome triangle class mage.

A simple whistle had Sylphid coming to pick them up. They had to retreat ASAP and employ reinforcements in dealing with the massive monster. They didn't have the kind of brute force that crushing it would require.

However, as the thing tried to round about to face Louise and Tabitha helped Kirche onto Sylphid, something was clearly noticeable. Louise wasn't moving. Not a bright idea when dealing with a slow, but brutally strong target.

"What is she doing!" Kirche snapped, yelling, trying to reach the stubbornly still girl.

Sylphid wouldn't have an easy time distracting the golem. Its claws couldn't pierce the golem's 'skin', and the comparison of brute force couldn't even be made, mostly due to sheer weight.

It was an odd sight to see Louise's yell and the ensuing explosion take a chunk off the golem. Sure, it regenerated almost instantly after, but it was still progress. The thing however seemed to only be vaguely affected by the force and was now looking to trample Louise.

"What are you doing you idiot!" Yelled Kirche, as taking the chance Sylphid rushed to make it. She extended her hand and grabbed Louise by the back of the cloak, pulling her back before the stumpy leg could be brought down on top of her.

"I will face my opponent!" Louise spoke, both anger and pride evident in her voice. Not a good combination.

"Dodging is part of combat!" Kirche spoke, narrowing her eyes. Neither of them caring about the fact that Kirche had just pulled Louise up by her cloak. The cloth it was made from seemed resistant, granted Louise weighed almost nothing.

"... Dodge." Was all the warning either Louise or Kirche got for Sylphid's evasive maneuvers. The dragon was doing its best to dodge the huge limbs that the golem was flailing around. A perk of being a lighter and more agile creature being the ability to dodge those.

However, what they were not expecting was the projectiles raising from the ground in vertical direction, attempting to impale Sylphid. Remaining above the treetops wasn't advisable, as they were clear targets for Fouquet.

The maneuvers were still sharp and quick, something which allowed Sylphid to safely descend to below the cover of the trees. There was still a huge danger.

Namely, the gigantic golem made of solidified dirt that seemed to know where they were going. To nobody's surprise, the dirt projectiles were meant to direct them into a trap. Something that Tabitha had recognized fairly quickly.

Sylphid acted as distraction, taking the golem's attention away from them as it nimbly flew around the golem, keeping its attention and allowing the trio to catch their breath.

"We have to retreat." Kirche urged. "We don't know where Fouquet is and we can't harm that thing."

"A noble that turns her back on an opponent is not a noble at all!" Louise said, her eyes narrowing.

A sharp cry distracted them. After waving her staff, Tabitha made sure that Sylphid was gone. The dragon was starting to get tired.

The downside was, they hadn't had much time to regroup and the golem was on them once again.

Louise once again stood her ground. Both Kirche and Tabitha moved their focii forward, but it was already too late.

Then again, remembering the advice, as the punch came down on her, she _did_ have the decency to jump away...

Only for the shockwave to catch her anyway. The force of the blow was such that it sent her flying. A helpful tree stopped her flight, however. She didn't have the time to dwell on the shock from that, though, as the golem turned its attention on her again. A combined tornado of flame and wind struck it from the side, making it stumble backwards. The sheer force had to have been tremendous.

Louise stood up again and pointed her wand at it. The last time she'd tried this, she'd been pissed and failed miserably. She still missed her intended target, which was the arm it'd drawn back for a punch, but it was okay.

Center mass was still a good shot. It was nowhere near as powerful as the last 'Fireball' had been, it'd only managed to annoy the thing and tear off one of its 'eyes' (which one had to wonder what purpose they served, as they were dirt like everything else), and of course, make its attack miss entirely. Not the intended purpose, but good enough.

The thrill of a real battle was not lost on Louise, as she pointed her wand at it again and began chanting for a second not-really-fireball... However, her casting speed was, for lack of a better term, pathetic.

The golem had ample time to raise a fist and bring it down like a hammer.

Time slowed down for Louise, as she saw the fist, almost a blur, approach her.

She'd never quite seen Kirche glare that fiercely at anything, or any expression on Tabitha's face whatsoever.

_Never freeze in front of danger. Move._

She'd have to thank her mother for that one. It had barely managed to save her by the skin of her teeth. Of course, she didn't walk out unscathed. The shockwave was much more compressed this time around, and it'd lifted a variety of small rocks and sticks and flung them at great speeds in every which direction, always away from the fist itself.

More than one had actually struck Louise as she was thrown away a second time by the force of a blow.

But it was better than taking a direct blow. The mere memory of the hits her familiar had taken was enough to spur her to get back on her feet despite being in quite a bit of pain.

She wouldn't prove them right by running away. No one would be able to call her a Zero ever again.

However, even if she'd wanted to, she could no longer move with complete freedom. She fell on her knees, she noticed the golem was temporally dealing with her two companions, being utterly unaffected by their attacks. Even the torrent of fire that had blinded it once for a second seemed useless.

She saw another barrage of spells blocked by the golem, most likely Tabitha's as the element was wind and tried to raise her wand again, but only managed a tiny, pitiful excuse for a explosion that had gone off in one of it's flanks.

Just a little mistake. Her last little mistake.

As it turned to her again, its fist raised, she glared at it one last time.

_"Κρατιστη Αιγις"_ (Kratiste Aigis)

She blinked, eyelids heavy, and she felt the force of the blow perfectly diverted, not the slightest bit reaching her.

Not even a grunt as the thing's gigantic fist fell on a hand that was too white to be normal.

Lightning cracked.

He didn't even direct a word at her.

_"Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!"_

But that was okay, hearing his voice was calming enough. The sound of stone exploding was welcome, too.

However, when he did turn to her, she'd expected to see his kind, warm and loving smile. Instead, all she saw was a neutral expression. His eyes were closed, as if he were straining to remain calm. "Master. You knew you were outclassed. Why didn't you retreat?" His voice was cold. Unusually so.

"It doesn't matter what happens! A noble that turns her back on an opponent is not a noble at all!" She repeated it from memory once again. Such an important rule it was to her.

"Such a thing won't matter if you're dead! Why did you do it?" He refused to believe she'd have such a stupid reason to do such a thing.

"Because... Everyone is always making fun of me! I'm a humiliation! If I run, everyone will laugh at me!"

She didn't care about the wetness that she felt in her cheeks. She felt truly pathetic, the lowest of scum. She had failed to do _anything_, like always.

Louise was just reminded that his chest seemed a very comfortable pillow, for some strange reason, as she was pressed against it once again. "Silly girl... Didn't you think about the people who would miss you? You're all banged up..." he asked, her only reply being raising her face so she could look at him in the eyes, as silence dragged on for a few seconds until she confirmed that he was, indeed, serious.

"B-But I'm just a failure... I'm Louise the Zero..."

"That doesn't matter, you're still precious to me, Louise."

"Just stay still like that!"

A dome of rock that resembled a cage sprung around them both, although neither of them moved even an inch. Negi directed his gaze past Louise and found Longueville, her hair down and her wand pointed forward.

"I had wanted the Gandalfr to show me how to use the Staff Of Destruction, but I guess I will have to learn on my own after I crush you!"

Longueville's voice was no longer the kind secretary's but the thief Fouquet's. To Negi, it was a standard Tuesday when someone tries to sabotage the ISSDA. Where it was not a surprise, it had still been unexpected.

"I just reduced your golem to rubble. This won't stop me."

"Not for long, it doesn't have to!" Fouquet smirked.

"I'll be back." Negi said. With the sound of cracking lightning, Louise fell to her hands and knees, wondering where her familiar had disappeared to. But more importantly, _how_ he had disappeared.

"Wha- urk!" Just at that moment, Fouquet found it hard to finish a sentence when your stomach suddenly tries to leap out of your body.

Negi, his eyes set in a glare, had his fist extended into Fouquet's stomach. The thief staggered several steps back and tried to do _something_. The moment Negi charged forward to deliver the followup that would knock her unconscious, a stone wall was raised in front of him.

When Fouquet tried to turn and run, however, he was in front of her, white as white could be, cracking with lightning. Trying to cast magic again was pointless, as when he raised her hand to aim he caught her by the wrist and twisted her around so he could grab the other one too. He was holding her from behind and her wrists were already starting to feel numb.

Nevermind the fact that she'd just felt one hell of a shock course through her, and it was getting hard to even think straight. A downside of coming into contact with a being of pure lightning.

_"Sagitta Magica: Aer Capturae"_

She tried to shake him off, but the difference in physical strength proved too much to catch up. Soon enough, several light green lines started snaking around the thief from her wrists, wrapping around her arms and exerting pressure. Soon after, two arrows wrapped themselves around her mouth.

He let go and she fell to the ground, the arrows preventing her movements and speech.

The sound of a large pair of wings beating made him look up, only to see a blue dragon descending to the ground just past the stonewall. Leaving Fouquet unguarded wouldn't be a nice choice, but she was barely conscious, bound and gagged, so it'd be okay.

For the moment, at least.

"DEEEEAR!"

Negi only had enough presence of mind to deactivate Duplex Complexio just before Kirche glomped him. The added weight from her... ahem... twins actually _did_ manage to knock him down to the ground. She seemed glad to see him fine and recovered.

Tabitha, meanwhile, broke the cage that kept Louise in her place.

"That was incredible! I hadn't seen it before, but you're really powerful!" Kirche commented. "This only makes you even more enticing!"

Somehow, he was sure that had he been weak and vulnerable, he'd have been just as enticing to Kirche. However, at the moment, he was just glad the redheaded sex bomb let him go before Louise went ballistic again.

"Fouquet?" Tabitha asked, walking into the group while holding Louise steady. Kirche rushed to help her. The moment the redhead had taken the pinkette, Tabitha was turning to face Negi.

"Miss Longueville was Fouquet all along." Negi explained, then turned halfway to the still raised stone wall.

Tabitha then turned to the golem, which was still a pile of smoking rubble and a few stray lightning bolts. Negi scratched the back of his neck. "I came prepared this time." he admitted, smiling despite the situation.

It was then that he turned to look at Louise. She seemed much better now, although she would definitely need a bath after that ordeal. When he had to walk around the wall, he thought about the fact that he really wished he'd brought Derflinger with himself. Cutting through the wall would have been much more convenient.

In any case, once he had the now decidedly unconscious and still bound Fouquet slung over his right shoulder, he smiled. "So, I assume this was a success, then?" he asked.

Tabitha kept an eye on him throughout the whole trip back. It seemed she had something to say, but she said nothing. Louise had to lean on Kirche for support until she could sit, something which was causing her no end of annoyance. Mostly because the redhead took this chance to poke fun at Louise. All in the name of good fun, though. She was a fair bit sterner when it came to dodging giant golem fists.

* * *

All three girls bowed in front of Old Osmond. "Fouquet is in custody of the Royal Guard and the Staff Of Destruction is back in our vault." the old man explained. "Everything is alright now." And the relief in his voice was clear. It seemed he was affected at a personal level. "You will be the honored guests of tomorrow's party."

"Of course!" Kirche spoke, already preparing for her characteristic Noblewoman's laugh.

"This incident affected the Royal Court, so you three will receive some gifts from them." And not from the school itself, as would have been expected.

"Ah! Gifts from the royal court? Awesome!" You know, I could make a dumb, materialistic broad comment here, Kirche, don't make it so tempting...

"'You three'? There's nothing for Negi?" asked Louise.

"Lamentably, he is not a noble by his own admission." Old Osmond spoke.

"I see..." Louise didn't seem too thrilled by that.

Negi smiled widely. "I wasn't even part of the mission to begin with." he corrected.

Old Osmond seemed glad to see someone who didn't give half a shizzle about prizes and bounties.

"I do, however, have a question I wish to ask."

Puzzled as to her familiar's question, Louise followed Kirche and Tabitha out.

Kirche had boasted that she'd knock everyone's socks out of their feet. Well, not with that expression, but she'd gotten pretty close to it. And yes, everyone _included_ women.

Louise then remembered an incident involving Kirche, her breasts and a dress that had been incapable of holding the puppies back. Since then, it was a known fact that Kirche could poke your eyes out with her assets. The memory had been enough to make her break into giggles, blushing slightly.

"Ah! I see you are already imagining how beautiful I will look!" Kirche continued boasting, her movements making those hypnotic movements that would make men stop to drool. Louise found out that it just further increased the hilarity of the image in her head.

Oh yes, it would be a sweet ball indeed.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back at the office_

"I have made no secret of the fact that I was summoned here from a different world by Master Louise." Negi began, his tone far more serious than it'd ever been since they met. "The staff of destruction, and the Zerbst's family treasure both come from my world. One could have been a freak accident. Two is pushing it."

Osmond seemed to be taking everything in stride, while Colbert actually had the look of surprise and shock befitting of learning about such a fact. He knew Negi was from another world, but to learn he came from the same world as some of their greatest artifacts was rather shocking.

"I wish to know how they were brought here." Negi finished, his smile replaced by a concentrated frown.

Osmond sighed. "While I cannot speak for the first, the Staff Of Destruction is a keepsake of a man who saved my life thirty years ago. He was dressed in strange clothes I had never seen before. We tried to heal him, but he didn't make it. I could not learn who he was or where he came from." he explained. "He had two. One was the one he carried and the other was presented to the court."

"Do you know anything else about that man? How he came to Halkeginia? I have a good idea of what he might have been, but nothing much more to go on."

Old Osmond closed his eyes and shook his head, looking, if nothing else, apologetic.

"So... There is more than one way in..." Negi said, a smile on his face. "So, I just have to keep looking. Eventually, I will find a way out, too."

"I am sorry we cannot provide you with more information." Osmond replied. "However, in exchange for this information, we wish to obtain some from you as well. Negi, it is quite obvious to me that you are not a human being, and you yourself admitted to not know what you truly are."

Colbert seemed focused into the conversation. The man had been enraptured by Old Osmond's story, and Negi could see why. If nothing else, he was curious.

"Indeed."

"However, with Miss Tabitha and Miss Zerbst testimonies we can conclude you might be a manner of spirit. It is rare for one of your kind to have a physical form, much less human form..."

"I was human once." Negi pointed out. "And while I might be one now, I can assure you that this is my original form."

Then, he remembered something very important. "Ah! I have nothing to wear for the ball!"

Colbert surprised himself by chuckling out loud. "I believe that can be fixed with ease, Negi. I will take you to a tailor today."

"It will be on me. We owe you that much, at least." Osmond said, smiling widely, despite his gesture being hidden under his beard.

"Thank you!"

Negi bowed and excused himself off the room. He had business to attend to. _Very_ important business.

The trip to the town with Colbert had been nothing short of actually pretty fun. Negi wasn't a shopping guy and neither was Colbert, but the man was like a middle aged Hakase. Negi was nowhere near Hakase or Chao's scientifical prowess, but he had enough on him to not be a burden to the plan.

He had enough to know the basics of how an engine worked, anyway, and Colbert seemed delighted about that. The man's experiments were nothing short of incredible, if his words were true, as he'd been making leaps and bounds in technology without even knowing. His work alone could spark an industrial revolution on Halkeginia one of those days.

But it was when they did finally get to the tailor (after a lengthy visit to the apothecary) that Negi could finally tick something off his wish list.

Apparently, the tailor's craft went back for generations, and he was the best at what he did. It was expensive, and he didn't like putting the burden on the academy, but by all hells, he'd gotten two sets of clothing. One for the party, and one for every day use. He didn't really need more, so long as he washed them after use. Wet clothes were easily dried with a wind spell, anyway.

Now he no longer had to rely on lent clothing, which was always a plus.

The fact that he'd met the _only_ Ukrainian suit maker in Halkeginia was another plus, although he wasn't sure how it was even close to being possible. It seemed to be the universal nationality of all great tailors. The clothes were exquisitely designed down to the last detail.

The only problem was that he felt kind of ridiculous wearing them. Luckily, for the time being, he could go around on the closest imitation to his gladiator outfit that could be made with the materials at hand while the tailor worked on a proper suit he could pick up before the ball. It'd take him at worst all of two minutes to make the trip back and forth, anyway.

But it was okay. At the very least, he wasn't forced to wear a dress this time...

* * *

Memories of cross dressing events aside, Negi parted ways with Colbert and headed to Louise's room. He (correctly) guessed it was past dinner, and so stopped by the kitchen to prove he was still alive and kicking. The chef pretty much stuffed the food down his throat to make him stay a while.

The large man was also trying to strangle one of the dishwashers for being a terrible attempt at a seductor. Siesta pointed out he had been really pathetic at it.

Apparently, that one guy was the single person hitting on every single maid. Granted, it was all in good nature, but it apparently got him rejected more times than he could count.

Of course, if you've been paying attention, you know that I tend to ruin these moments as fast as I can. "He'll hit on anything with a dress!" One of the maids spoke indignantly. "He'd even hit on Negi!"

"I'll have you know that I look damn good in a dress."

He _really_ should think about keeping those kinds of comments to himself. It was his role models' fault. After all, they'd taught him that you _never_ feel ashamed of your talents, and if your talents lie in cross dressing, well...

Siesta wandered in on him trying to get the hell away, half undressed with a maid's uniform halfway put on. She couldn't look at him without giggling anymore.

* * *

It took an entire night of sleep before Louise could get off the high she'd gotten. And even then, it had already been an entire day of classes (in which Negi somehow managed to sneeze himself into the air) before she could think about it without getting really giddy.

Louise was starting to have doubts, as she stood in her designated spot in the circle. This magic ritual would supposedly make it easier for her to cast magic by having her draw on Negi's power instead of her own, but she was beginning to have her doubts.

"To be more specific, this contract opens a link between Magister and Ministra, through which magic flows. The artifact that would result from the contract can be summoned from anywhere, but you will only be able to receive a magic boost from me if you are within my vicinity." He had made a crudely drawn visual aid for his explanation, which was doing very little to reassure her this would actually work as intended.

"What's this about artifacts, partner?" Derflinger asked, since Louise seemed too out of it to.

"Well, when the Magister is powerful enough, an artifact is created. Generally, it depends on the relationship shared by the Magister and Ministra, although some people have specific artifacts to themselves. I, for example, would always end up with the same artifact no matter who I make a contract with."

Derflinger hummed. Somehow. "I was starting to fear you'd replace me, Partner."

Negi smiled and shook his head. "Even if I had my artifact back, I'd have no reason to. You are my friend."

The sword lapsed into pleased silence.

Wouldn't she still be a complete failure at magic if she depended on Negi to be able to use even a simple spell?

Negi however didn't seem too worried about it. By his own admission, he'd done this dozens of times, which didn't really calm Louise any. As much as she was beginning to actually believe and trust her familiar, this didn't soothe her nerves. After all, she was supposed to seal the damn contract with a kiss. It had already been annoying to have to kiss him once when she summoned him...

Tomato impression in three, two, one...

"Are you ready, Master?" His question had disturbed her train of thought. It didn't matter much if she was or wasn't, she pretty much had to do it. It wouldn't only help her, after all, as her familiar admitted it was as much in the name of curiosity as it was in the name of protecting her as a familiar should.

She nodded shakily, taking a deep breath and steeling herself for what was to come. She could feel his hand on her chin, tilting it up. Her eyes were closed, as she knew that if she opened them she would back away instantly from sheer shame.

She never could quite understand why people made such a big deal of kissing other than it being an open display of affections. That is, she couldn't quite understand why people seemed to be so fond of doing it. However, as she let herself be carried away, she began to understand. It was a _really_ pleasant experience.

Of course, by the time it was done, she was left wanting more, making an accurate impression of a tomato.

She barely even managed to see Negi snatch a card from the air. He seemed strangely curious.

Then he showed it to her. It had a picture of him, in the same outfit he was currently wearing, some sort of armored long coat, holding a small notebook in one hand. He was grinning and appeared ready for battle.

"This is my Pactio Card. It's a bit different from the original, but it's mine nonetheless. I made sure that I was the Magister in this equation..." He said, scratching the back of his neck. "Maybe the familiar contract influenced this result..."

But even that was odd in and of itself. He knew she had a lot of power to draw from, but it was still surprising to get a Pactio reversed on him. It wasn't impossible, well, it'd never happened before, but it had been close. He muttered a quick spell to duplicate it and pocketed the copy.

Louise furrowed her brows. "What does this mean?"

Her hopes were about to shatter. "That I need to go through my lesson plan once again, but nothing other than that." He admitted, smiling slightly. "Now, master, we have to get ready for the ball. I promised I would help decorate, so I should get going early."

He would have left immediately, if he didn't see she really seemed dejected about that. He smiled the most reassuring smile he could and held his card up. "This, Master, is an artifact card. This is the physical proof that you are a powerful mage."

She took the card in her hands and stared at it like it was some sort of precious jewel.

"Really?"

"Of course!"

And he'd make damn sure she would keep that smile on her face.

* * *

Kirche was in her element, as always, having a variety of gentlemen responding like dogs to her every command. It helped that she was wearing a purple dress that was noticeably incapable of keeping her chest in check.

Tabitha, meanwhile, had taken the much more sensible path of eating slices of ham bigger than her own face. To most people, seeing the tiny girl pack away the food would have been startling. Of course, she was a master of going unnoticed to do so.

Negi had taken a moment to stare at the two distant moons once again. They were not Phobos and Deimos, but they sure reminded him of them. He smiled. As soon as he got into training Louise, he'd start learning her own magic system. At first glance, nothing made a lick of sense, but Louise had academic knowledge that was in some ways superior to the practical knowledge.

"What's the problem, partner?" Asked the always trusty sword of perverse victory. "It's a party and you're here alone."

"I miss my friends, Derflinger." He answered without hesitation. "I don't know how to get back to them, and so far, the summoning ritual has yielded no results in this regard. In any case, now I know that there are more ways to communicate both worlds, and I will get working on how to find them."

"Your attention please, the daughter of the count de La Valliere, Mademoiselle Louise Françoise le Blanc De La Valliere is present!"

Lots of heads, not all of them containing brains, turned to greet Louise as she ascended the stairs in a beautiful white dress with pink lace to accent her natural features and hair. The author would like to point out that the description would be dangerously close to purple prose if he went into any more detail.

Kirche would have chuckled, had she not been busy chastising Tabitha for bad table manners. The little Louise _could_ resemble a woman when she wanted to.

She had her arms folded, her chin high and an utterly neutral expression as she made her way past all those who tried their best to get them to dance with her. Behind those who had gathered in front of her was an open balcony, in which a gentleman in black stood. His clothes were outlandish and different, a black and somehow more exquisite version of the clothes she'd originally met him in, although she wasn't entirely sure where that one came from...

No one could quite compare.

"Looks like anyone can look good with the correct clothes." Derflinger commented.

"You'd be surprised what a suit can do." Negi agreed, chuckling.

"S-Shut up!" Louise nearly yelled, barely raising her voice. It wouldn't do to make a scene in public.

"But master is always pretty."

There was that damn annoying blush again.

The lights dimmed before she could reply to that comment, and music began playing. Negi, being the gentleman that he was, instantly bowed and took one of Louise's hands on his own. "Would you allow me this dance, Lady Louise?"

Stupid familiar. Always being so goddamn perfect. "I guess you can have the pleasure." She replied, a content smile on her face. He would have laughed, if only because it was a stupid attempt at saving face that couldn't fool either of them.

However, the perfect moment wouldn't last forever. "... I believe that you come from another world." She said, after noticing that he was not going to be interrupting the moment. "Don't you ever think about going back?" It was a question that had been nagging at her for a while.

"There is not a day in which I don't dwell on it, Master. I am still searching for a way to return to my world. But right now, I am here for you."

It was just repeating something once again. However, this once again reminded her of a very important fact. "Thank you... You saved my life from the Golem and I haven't even thanked you yet."

She was progressively more red faced as she was forced to swallow her pride... by herself.

Negi shook his head. "Master, I will protect you no matter what, because you are my friend."

It was paradoxical. He said he wanted to protect her, yet he hurt her so much with just a few words.


	8. Scarron is Mr Gold!

**Author's Note: WE'RE THE REGULATORS THAT DEREGULATE. WE'RE THE ANIMATORS THAT DEANIMATE! WE'RE THE PROPAGATORS OF ALL GENOCIDE!  
**

Now that random insanity is out of the way, thank you for the reviews everyone, as always. This time, I don't have any reviews to directly address when I post this.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 8: The Toaster Of Fate

"We both knew this would happen from the very start." The chaos had subdued. He was only met with silence.

"You exceeded everything everyone expected of you. You have been, from the start, much better than I could have ever been. All of you. Everyone, I'm thankful for everything you have done." He continued, the smile on his face growing more strained by the minute. "I had fun. I loved. I had a full life. I have no regrets. Don't blame yourself. Who am I kidding? I know you will anyway."

The faces that stared at him ranged from depressed to angry to just tired. One in particular caught his attention, one that was very clearly on the verge of tears.

"Aww, come on. You're making me self conscious. Put a smile on those faces. It's sad when a clown doesn't get one last laugh in."

Nobody dared comment. Simply seeing his lips twitch ever so slightly upwardly was enough, however.

Despite the strain that it put on his body, he erupted into laughter at that point. "You should all see your faces. All serious and sad and shit." He seemed pensive for a second. "You know, this would normally be the point when someone would punch me for ruining the moment."

As if to punctuate his statement, a rather large portion of the palace caved in.

Finally, he was offered a hand by a carbon copy, who sported an even further strained smile. "Father... When you get there, give my regards to mother."

He shook it rather firmly. "Of course, kiddo. Everyone else... We'll meet again some day. It's been a pleasure knowing ya'll..." his breath was getting more agitated by the second.

"You know, Negi, I'm sad I will never get to meet your kids. Put in a good word for Grandpa Nagi, 'kay?"

Tears already rolling down his cheeks, Negi nodded.

"Well, I gotta go now... Goodbye..."

He closed his eyes and his chest fell one last time.

* * *

Negi shook his head and cleaned his tears, a bright smile on his face.

He had more important things to dwell on than a dream. One of them very important. With that same smile, he shook Louise from an arm. "Master, time to wake up."

To her credit, Louise woke up in a good mood and sat up on the bed. Then, she felt a chill and covered herself again. She noticed that the dress she'd used last night, along with her underwear and her night gown, were thrown across the room instead of on her. A blush came to her face thinking about what could possibly have happened last night, so she had to dig into her memory as she got dressed (Negi mentioned him dressing her was incredibly awkward and she'd had no other option than to comply. That pout could move mountains).

If she were to be truthful, seeing every female on sight dive for Negi the moment another piece began _had_ been utterly hilarious. Seeing that Kirche had won the melee handily had been annoying. At the very least she had to admit, Kirche was an excellent dancer... Erotically speaking, of course. It'd been uncomfortably arousing...

At the very least, Negi showed he was an equal opportunity chick magnet and actively sought Tabitha out. Apparently, he wanted to talk with her about something. This time, Louise and Kirche actually shared a laugh at the image. Particularly since that had been pretty much the first time Tabitha had gotten noticeable attention.

Admittedly, she'd had a great time.

She just couldn't remember what the hell happened before she got to bed...

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

_Some Time Earlier, according to unknown sources..._

Guiche was having a great time, taking a second for fresh air with Montmorency. His objective was clear. Her aim was as good as ever, and upon threat of making everyone believe he'd peed his pants, he promised not to throw the dogs to anyone with a dress. Even if Louise looked really cute on a dress.

"Hey... isn't that the Zero and her familiar?" Montmorency asked, turning around to stare at said people. Guiche faltered, he'd been ready to steal a kiss just at that moment.

"... It is." He commented, his voice more than a little sour. Then he noticed something that was, to anyone with a brain, fairly obvious. Louise was drunk off her ass. "What are those clothes?"

The Flood shook her head, because she wasn't entirely sure herself. Although he was still eye candy that couldn't quite easily be ignored.

Montmorency didn't like the Zero. Not many people did. She was kind of a stuck up bitch on top of being the worst mage of all time. So she was left wondering how the hell it came to be that she was left with such a ridiculously handsome and gentlemanly familiar... That train of thought would go nowhere.

"Is he trying to take advantage of her?" Guiche asked.

"... I don't think she's even awake..." commented Montmorency. Then her eyes widened."Didn't think the Zero had it in her. That _has_ to hurt..."

"I can confirm that, Montmorency. I think I feel sorry for him..." Guiche said, rubbing a sensitive spot. "I hope it was accidental..."

Seeing her apologize was enough to cement it. Seeing her apologize had been _weeeeeeird_. It was Louise. She made excuses, but never apologized. To most people, anyway.

Movement in the other balcony continued. Guiche ignored for a minute the fact that Louise seemed to have gotten into an ever escalating argument with a sword about her breast size. To Montmorency, it was truly hilarious. She wasn't that much bigger herself, but at the very least she was proud of what she had.

Not everyone could be Kirche.

Talking about the Germanian bombshell, she seemed to join the conversation, which further animated Louise. Neither Guiche nor Montmorency could quite look away when the groping began. Guiche admitted to himself that women plus alcohol made for very nice sexytimes. It was a pity to see that Tabitha had pulled Kirche away before she could do any more good for the cause of men everywhere.

The redheaded familiar, meanwhile, was busy trying to keep Louise from improvising a wand on the spot and blowing up Kirche... Even though he didn't need to, given Louise seemed more flustered than angry. Montmorency was a bit disappointed Louise hadn't brought a wand. Seeing the results of that would've been hilarious.

Guiche was disappointed for entirely different reasons. Louise's spells had a way of shredding the clothes of anyone caught in the blast. Which would have meant Kirche and Louise would've suffered the effects. At the very least, Montmorency hadn't caught him drooling at the mental image this time...

* * *

"And that's what I saw." Guiche ended his recounting of the facts, rubbing his chin.

Louise was still left wondering. She didn't know what the hell happened that evening on her room. She straightened her nerves one last time. Her familiar hadn't touched her. He wouldn't do it. He was a gentleman. Not to mention, he had trouble dressing her, let alone touching her inappropriately. The problem was what _she_ could have done to embarrass herself and her family.

If she'd had more time that morning, she would've gone to ask Tabitha, who would have been a far more reliable source of information. As it was, she had to leave the academy for her reward. The capture of Fouquet hadn't been a small deal, after all.

Sighing, she absent mindedly thanked Guiche and continued on her way. She was already late, and she would _never_ make the Princess wait.

* * *

Negi received weird looks all around the palace. Every noble that they crossed as they were led to the throne room stopped to stare at him, some wary, some outright afraid and several cutting off whatever they were doing and excusing themselves... Meaning run away as fast as they could. To Louise, it was odd. To Negi, not so much. After all, if Mott had described what had transpired well enough, there was a real reason to give him a wide berth.

Fortunately, Henrietta didn't seem affected by the hysteria, although Louise had, of course, and was having trouble looking at _her_. Negi had no such problems, however. Both were bowing in her presence, yet even so Negi was still taller than them both. It was kind of funny to him. He was used to women being larger than himself.

"Congratulations, Louise Françoise."

"It is enough that the court has conceded me the title of Chevalier, Princess, you don't need to congratulate me personally..."

Negi found odd that she considered it such a huge honor. Wasn't it the lowest rank of knighthood? Maybe the rank ladder worked differently here, or maybe it was just an insanely big deal to be a knight to begin with.

"Your accomplishments certainly deserved it." Henrietta replied, smiling at the one person who hadn't discarded the proper level of formality yet. "You captured the thief that not even the royal guard could capture."

"Thank you, Mr. Familiar, as well." It hurt to know she'd reset back to overly formal mode... but it _was_ the throne room. Either way, it was common courtesy.

Negi shook his head in response, smiling cheerfully. "I should have been there earlier." He commented.

Louise looked at him from the corner of her eyes, willing him to leave that for later, so she could properly explain it was her fault for not telling him in the first place.

"Please, continue protecting my friend." she asked, offering him her hand.

It took half a second for him to recognize the gesture. It was, however, enough for Louise to get in the middle and prevent him from replying by glaring at him. For all of two seconds, anyway. "You shouldn't offer your hand to a familiar, Your Highness!" Louise commented.

Negi pouted at her. He thought she'd gotten over those issues... Well, at least now she saw him as male at the very least. It was an improvement and it meant he no longer had to dress her in the mornings.

"Asking him to protect you is the same as asking him to swear loyalty." She justified. "His loyalty should also be rewarded."

Louise stepped aside.

"Oh, I misinterpreted, then." Negi spoke, relaxing a little. Swearing loyalty to a foreign crown could be the start of a political upheaval if he did go through with what he was planning to. Granted, it was going to be insanely problematic either way. "I swear that I will protect Louise with my life." he intoned, before kneeling and kissing the back of Henrietta's hand.

It was an easy oath to keep. After all, that was basically what both contracts he had established with Louise demanded. As a Minister, he'd give his life for her in battle and as a familiar he'd always be with her. It made a taller order of his current pet project, but something as moronic as impossibilities didn't exist to him. Spend enough time with people who laugh in the face of such things and you will start to think that way too.

"Now, I wish to speak with both of you privately." Okay. That was odd. "Follow me to my room."

Louise took two seconds to realize the implications of what the Princess had just said. You see, continued proximity to Kirche has one prominent side effect. You start to recognize innuendos and accidental double entendres that much more easily than most other people do. And you pick up when people are coming on to you at an alarmingly fast speed. So, at first she began blushing, thinking of being invited to the princess' room. Just like back when she was her playmate.

Then the blush increased when she noticed she would be alone. With the princess. In her room.

Then she was a walking tomato, when she noticed that she would be with the princess. In her room. With her familiar accompanying them. Totally Kirche's fault that she had to push the dirty thoughts off her mind. It didn't help that the idea was starting to appeal to her more and more every second. It was the fault of the walking ball of charisma also known as Negi Springfield that she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Negi, meanwhile, continued walking while sunk in thought. If they had to talk privately in her room, then evidently it was something that had to be said away from prying ears of possible spies. The Princess' room was a 'safe' place, in a sense. It was one of the most guarded rooms in the entire palace and it had the thickest walls. Enough that they could talk without fear of being heard by non-enhanced hearing.

Louise managed to calm down by the time they got there, while even the _guards_ cleared out of the way, taking one look at Negi and staying clear of his path. He was sure the only reason they didn't actively leave their posts was because the princess was walking in front of him. This was starting to get ridiculous. What the hell kind of stories were being spread about him in the palace?

"To be sincere, I have to ask a favor of you."

Something important, no doubt.

"Ask us anything!" Louise immediately replied.

Negi was left wondering how someone could reply so fast. Apparently, Louise was very eager to please the princess. If Haruna were here, she'd know what exactly Louise could do to please her... Bad brain, get back to the story.

"I want you two to live in the city for a while." That was an odd request, if there had ever been one. Still, it intrigued Negi.

Mostly because he wondered how the city people lived. Every one of his visits had been directly to the marketplace. He hadn't seen the rest of the city, so it would be a welcome sight. Maybe he could find a library or a magic shop... then he'd have to convince Louise to buy him the books he'd require to continue his research on a way to get back to his world.

Shouldn't be too difficult...

Henrietta produced a scroll sealed with red string from god knows where. Presumably one of her sleeves. But the dress didn't have puffy sleeves... "This is a public certification of status provided by the Royal Court." She explained, ignoring Negi's puzzled look. Did she know about extra dimensional storage?

"You are asking us to watch the city?"

"I have heard rumors about nobles who oppress the commoners." The princess explained, completely missing the fact that she was talking to one who was ambivalent to the situation discussed. "When I asked my peers, I was told that the nobles are an example for the commoners, that something like this is impossible."

"And we both know that that is not true." Negi replied, frowning noticeably. "I am a personal witness to the abuse Lord Mott inflicted upon his servants."

Louise wondered if she should glare at the disrespect, but ended up deciding not to because he had a good point. And it wasn't like he had disrespected her. He seemed loose around formality when it came to royalty.

Henrietta smiled at him. "Thanks to you, that should no longer be a concern." she commented, a sickeningly sweet smile. It was the kind of smile you put on when you know that you're talking about a disgusting subject yet don't want to make a disgusted face. Neither Negi nor Louise blamed her. "That is why I wish for you to live in the city and investigate in secret. It will be a hard task, but..."

"I accept, Princess! Even if I have to dedicate my whole life to it, I will accomplish this task!"

Well, there were worse causes to throw your life away for... Negi sweatdropped, anyway. He was obligated as a mildly hypocritical and highly sensible individual he was. Such enthusiasm for a task neither of them actually knew how to do was, at the very least, a good start. He was certain it would have been much easier if he had ever bothered to learn how to make the glasses that disguise someone's identity...

* * *

Louise was already regretting it when she noticed that she could no longer wear the comfortable, soft and more than anything stylish school uniform anymore and was forced into a brown, coarse dress.

Negi, meanwhile, was comfortable enough in the outfit he had so long ago worn to a certain gladiatorial tournament. The Pactio card was already coming in handy, and Louise didn't even begin to notice the drain. He'd been right, she did have a fairly high sum of power. Now, if he could teach her how to use it, then she'd be adecent mage.

The second let down Louise had was the fact that the paltry sum of money she'd been given was absolutely useless to the cause of satisfying her rather refined tongue and accommodation requirements. It was kinda funny to see her flailing around shop to shop and having her scream her displeasure with the high prices. He could've sworn he heard something about crazy gaijins.

He drew the line when she tried to go to a casino to win the money. Regardless of the anachronism, the casino was not a place to visit when you're short on money. She'd kicked and screamed for him to let her go. A quick reminder of the fact that, for the duration of the assignment at the very least, she was no longer a noble and thus had no authority whatsoever, served to further flare her nerves. She'd argued that these were necessities.

"No, what is necessary right now is finding a job. Because what we have, if the marketplace is anything to go by, will last us a week, tops, depending on how cheap the inn we stay at is." It was ironic to consider he had one of the highest paying jobs in the planet back on earth (being the director of one of the most important organizations in the planet has its perks), now he would have to scrape for enough income to _eat_.

It just happened to be that absolutely no one was hiring in the entire town... Well, on the more respectable businesses, that was. Negi wouldn't be caught dead in the red light district, after all. Partially because he had no real reason to other than that one time when Rakan took him and Kotaro on a trip around the Adult World for their eighteenth birthdays...

Best not to remember it. Many things happened that night involving too many women to count. Besides, the only thing he did remember was somehow waking up three days later in Kickassia.

Louise wasn't making it any easier, not making a single attempt at hiding her distaste for the stores they visited while looking for work. She was used to dealing with commoners that knew not to screw with her and knew nothing of how to even feign respect. Clearly, they were in trouble. By sunset they were tired, bored and hungry. Well, Louise was. Negi was mostly annoyed. "Partner, why don't you look for a place to stay, leave the girl there and go looking for work on your own? It should double your chances of actually getting hired." Derflinger commented.

Negi looked at his sword with an expression that clearly said "You had to say it while she was right there, didn't you?"

Thankfully, Louise appeared too distraught to notice. She was trying her best to come up with an idea to turn those four hundred new gold into a fortune, all of which ended up in her having to somehow learn how to transmute gold on the spot. Or going to the casino, which Negi was completely against. "Tres Bien!" Such an effeminate voice... Negi snapped his head to its origin. "What a beautiful face!" And with that kind of man one has to wonder who he is talking about. Negi made his best effort to keep himself from exploding at that point. "It seems you two are in trouble."

The man was wearing a pair of honest to goodness _bloomers_ and what looked like a tank top that was a few many sizes too low. The fact that he was _fuzzy_ was the cherry on top. And then he began wiggling in place. And then stretching himself like a bodybuilder would. At the very least, he had muscles.

Louise was left stupified.

"As you can see, I am no one suspicious!" That just makes you more suspicious. AND YOU'RE A DRAG QUEEN! "My name is Scarron, and I have an inn just that way!" The man commented, puckering his lips whenever he could. That moustache seemed ALIVE. Also, I think he kinda reminds me of Freddy Mercury, but I don't know why.

Okay, now Negi knew who he'd been talking to with the comment of the face. On the other hand, BAD TOUCH! TOO CLOSE! "An inn?" Presumably in the red light district, given the man's appearence. But considering the amount of money they had available... There was nothing to be done about it.

"Yes, an inn!" Okay, enough repetition dammit. "Allow me to offer you a room there!"

"... A cheap one, I hope..." Negi commented.

"Of course! But on one condition..." his pointer finger pointed directly at Louise, and she was still too out of it to notice.

* * *

Negi had been surprised to see a lineup of girls in skimpy bustiers. Louise hadn't managed to get out of having to wear one herself. Sure, they had enough to last a week under normal circumstances, but her refined palate would likely murder their wealth in a very short amount of time.

If he didn't eat, then they'd have a full week of living expenses paid. His own work as an assistant on the kitchen wouldn't cut it.

"You heard me, girls?" Scarron spoke, still doing so in the girliest way possible.

"Of course, master Scarron!" It was like a goddamn guild there. It was scary how cheerful they were, for girls that were working on a sleazy bar that bordered on prostitution.

"I've told you already!" Scarron yelled, wiggling in place once again. "When we're open, call me Mi Mademoiselle!"

"Yes, Mi Mademoiselle!"

"Tres Bien!"

Hey, at least they were having fun.

Louise, meanwhile, was contemplating suicide as she stood to Scarron's right in a white bustier just as skimpy as the rest. "I've got you big news, my fairies!" Scarron began, clapping to obtain their attention. "Today we receive a new friend here, the Enchanting Fairy Mansion!" He then turned to his right. "Louise!"

Said girl took a few steps forward, her expression twitching both in embarrassment and anger.

"Her father was about to sell her to pay for the debts he made betting on the casino, but she ran away with her older brother. Her story is so sad!" Why the hell did he sound so enthusiastic about it, then?

"Ah, how unfortunate!" One of the girls replied. Of course, it further provoked Louise as she didn't like being pitied one bit.

"I-I A-Am L-Louise, i-it's a p-p-pleasure to meet you!" Okay, it was _mostly_ embarrassment by this point.

They gave her a warm welcome, which helped soothe her nerves somewhat.

Negi sighed, as he heard her. "She's not ready for this..." He muttered. "I so miss Haruna right now..." he finished. For two reasons, mostly. One, Haruna would have absolutely no problem with engaging in this particular activity. Two, Haruna was a master at obtaining both information and money. If either her or Asakura were around, then it'd be so much easier! Their artifacts could be useful, but he wasn't either of them. He wouldn't know how to use them properly.

"Hey, new guy, help me with the dishes!" The most conservatively dressed woman of the house called to him. A long green dress and a white apron. Possibly the most practically dressed one, too. "We're about to open."

"Ah, yes, sorry, I got sidetracked!" he apologized, rushing to his duties. He was starting to get tired of always having to wash things.

"You have a very cute sister!"

"Uh... Thank you?" He replied, tentatively, only to see her look at him with what could only be described as a knowing smirk.

"Hm... My name is Jessica, what is yours?"

"My name is Negi." The redhead replied almost instantly.

"Negi? What a strange name..." Jessica questioned, turning to him with clear curiosity.

"Really? It's not that strange..." He could blame it on his father being a weaboo, but the term would fly right over her head.

"Either way, it's a pleasure to meet you, Negi! If you need anything, just ask me." Negi smiled and nodded.

"Ah, thank you!" replied Negi, this time with noticeably more confidence.

Louise rolled her eyes. Always the same with her familiar. He just had women flocking to him. Stupid perverted familiar. He and Kirche were trying to rape decency, and the poor concept was starting to enjoy it.

"Okay, girls!" Scarron's voice called across the entire room. "Since we met a new face today, I will announce what you were all waiting for: The Tip Race Week!"

Louise's questioning of what the hell it was was drowned by the squeals of delight from the girls.

"The fairy who earns the most tips until this weekend will not only take home a special bonus, but also..." Pause for a dramatic drumroll (provided by Jessica from the kitchen, Negi complimented her abilities as a drummer), and to pull on a convenient rope, opening a set of curtains and revealing a mannequin wearing the single skimpiest bustier the Mansion had.

Louise wondered how what amounted to fetish wear could have illustrious ancestry behind it. And how wearing it could be considered a prize.

"The Enchanted Fairy Bustier!"

It _was_ incredibly cute...

"Really, Mi Mademoiselle?" The girls chorused, between squeals.

"Tres Bien!" Scarron was rather pleased with their enthusiasm. "This Bustier has been enchanted to capture the fascination of your clients, so that even the most inexperienced girl can make a fortune!"

Louise's alarms went off. With that, she wouldn't have to put up with her familiar cutting costs anymore!

"The girl who wore it last year got so much money that she retired and went back to her home town! Girls, put in all of your effort so you can wear it too!"

She HAD to have it! There was nothing else to say about it! Even Louise joined the last cheer, although a bit late.

* * *

Pro Tips: Get close. Call clients 'My Dear Master'. Giggle at their stupid jokes. Respond positively to their touch.

Four basic indications that should have made the collection of tips that much simpler.

But every time she got close she noticed the goddamn smell.

Every time she called them 'My Dear Master' she wanted to puke.

Their stupid jokes made her want to gouge out her eardrums.

And every touch made her want to tear their fingers off.

It took her about ten minutes to blurt out her title. Luckily, it had been at a particularly busy moment and nobody had heard her, otherwise, she would actually be in trouble. Scarron pulled a save at the best moment. The fat man seemed strangely pleased with that turn of events...

Negi sighed at the riot Louise had caused. That was a bottle of wine that would come out of their little remaining wealth. Truth be told, Scarron kept the place very controlled. Any time any of the consumers got carried away he was there in a flash to separate them from their object of desire. Jessica at least was understanding enough that she excused his distraction every time Louise was in trouble.

She called them Big Brother Instincts. He would have, at any other point, made a point about it not being protecting Louise from the customers, but protecting the customers from Louise, but he had to concentrate himself on the dishes and the ongoing conversations.

* * *

All in all, their first day... hadn't gone well. He hadn't been able to get much spying done while keeping an eye on Louise and washing the dishes, which seemed to be never-ending.

"T-This isn't possible! Why does the daughter of a duke have to do this sort of thing?" To say she was a ball of nerves would be like saying a nuclear explosion is a little noisy.

Negi frowned. "There is not much we can do. Our mission requires obtaining rumors, and a bar with good wine means loose lips... Not to mention, nobles frequent this place, as well..." Although the information would be questionable at best, it was the fastest way to obtain any sort of information for Henrietta, and the faster they did that, the faster Louise could go back to a life of luxury. Then she'd stop whining. "Besides, with the amount of money we have, we cannot be picky."

"B-But our room is a cellar in the attic!" She whined, clearly unused to the conditions.

Negi smiled. "I personally am not entirely unsatisfied. It is not very different to the conditions I live in under you, Master."

"You are one to talk. You are always chatting with that girl..."

"Ah, Jessica?" He asked. "She's nice." Negi commented, leaning against a wall for support.

"More importantly, how can you let a noble like me sleep in a place like this? We have money!" She nearly yelled, still not precisely used to having a cover to blow.

Negi smiled at her. "Master, _I_ have money. I am the big brother, remember?" He said, his tone clear and showing that he was enjoying himself for the time being. "This was your ruse, little sis."

He shouldn't be doing this, but seeing her suddenly blush in embarrassment was too good to pass up. "A lot happened today. You should rest. Tomorrow will probably be even busier."

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Louise asked, tilting her head.

"... Maybe later..." He said, looking aside.

It was confusing. To be certain, she had never actually seen him sleep. He was always up before her and always was awake and about after she was already in bed. It was getting disturbing, how inhuman her familiar became with each passing day. When she'd first met him, he was just a random commoner in her eyes. Ever since then, he had only gotten more and more impressive and less human.

She sighed before pulling the covers on herself and trying to sleep against the tough mattress. With the light gone, all she could see was the distant moon. She wondered if he really had no problem at all with doing this...

Then a screech almost made her lose control of her bladder. The beating of wings signaled the coming of three black shapes that swooped down on her. She failed miserably at swatting them away. Her familiar had a much easier time doing so, as he caught the damn things and tossed them out the window. She was still left startled, however, as she knew that they could return at any time. Who knew flying rodents would cause her to become such a scaredy cat?

"Uh... Negi..." She was fidgeting. "Could you uh... s-sleep with m-me tonight?"

Negi blinked. Then he pointed at himself, and she nodded. Then he pointed at the bed, and she nodded again.

"Please..."

"Close your eyes, Louise." He said, smiling comfortingly. She looked at him, clearly confused. Then he tapped the rim of his glasses, and Louise's mouth formed an O.

She was embarrassed and she could barely believe herself for asking what she'd asked for. But even so, she happily fell asleep in her familiar's arms.

* * *

Fire. Fire everywhere. A bomb. Designed to kill humans. Greatly underestimating his regenerative capabilities. Dark miasma gathered under his feet. The moment his blurry sight cleared and he saw through the smoke, the miasma was covering his entire body. The enemy ran.

With a howl, the beast sought the enemy.

Defeat the enemy.

The beast prowled. The enemy tried to run.

The beast was fast. The beast was strong. The beast was invincible. The enemy stood no chance. The enemy tried to defend itself. The enemy failed.

Everything fell apart under the beast's might. Steel, wood, concrete, nothing could hold it back. Water, Ice, Fire, Wind, all but mere annoyances in its path. It broke through everything. It chased The Enemy to the end of the world.

Kill the enemy.

Claws tore into soft flesh. The beast's fists clashed against the enemy time and time again, splashing everything of red when the claws tore through soft meat.

The enemy gave one last cry before it's skull shattered under the pressure.

The beast ran. The beast ran to her. And the beast cried when it held her in its arms and watched the life slowly drain from her. The beast pleaded her not to leave him.

The beast cursed the heavens, for trying to take her away. The beast cursed the enemy, for being the assigned delivery man.

But most of all, the beast cursed itself for failing to protect her when she most needed him.

And so the beast cried.

* * *

Blasted dreams.


	9. Everything Is Solved Through Explosives

**Author's Note:  
**So... Nothing too important... Other than an answer if you were wondering who the hell it was that protagonized last night's dream.

If you like this fic, then join the Ala Iridia forum!

Woah, goes lengths to prevent links.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 9: Attack Of The Cursed Waffle Maker

Louise found herself on a very warm, comfortable place. So much so, in fact, that she didn't want to open her eyes despite the fact that it was clear she was not going to sleep anymore. They had gone to bed very late. However, then she found herself wondering what she was resting on. It felt, oddly enough, like Cattleya...

She very quickly realized that she was too close to whatever she was on to see. All she saw was a mass concealed by darkness and the vague outlining of muscles. Pulling back was not an option, as she was very tightly held in place.

Then the embarrassing memory came back, and she recalled that she had slept in her familiar's arms. However, she was distracted when something wet hit her on the forehead. The hold on her tightened, and she gasped for breath.

"Chi... sa... me... I'm... sorry..."

It didn't take her long to relax and snake her own arms around his chest. If he could be there for her, then she would be there for him, just this once. He relaxed almost immediately afterwards.

* * *

"Now, Master, repeat after me. _Practe Bigi Nar, Ardescat!_"

Progress was made in reducing the size of the explosions. Turns out, when she barely even knows what the hell she is doing, Louise is actually better as a mage.

* * *

Negi was beginning to wonder how moronic accepting the mission really was, at this point. Sure, he had little trouble adapting to these conditions. He'd had worse before. Trying to cram the amount of people he had into the Great Paru-sama had been an experience that he'd rather not repeat, and before he got the hang of actually cleaning his apartment, it'd been an epic level mess.

Mostly because he didn't allow Chachamaru to go clean it herself, and he'd hired no one to do it for him. Something that he'd been called out on was that he had never quite managed to stop being a loner whenever he could.

He was getting better, but it was a slow process, it seemed. He was also getting better at doing the dishes, but that is irrelevant.

The problem with the situation was that Louise was clearly not only not prepared for a job that required passing as a commoner, she was also utterly unprepared for being a waitress. If her threatening to kill the customers whenever they touched her was anything to go by, then she was not going to be making a lot on tips any time soon.

The men, to their credit, seemed to take it in stride. Quite a few had seemed to actually like her for her violent tendencies. However, those weren't the problem. The problem were those who, quite accurately, pointed out that she looked like a little girl. Fortunately for Negi's nerves, Scarron seemed quite adept at defusing pretty much any situation that resulted from Louise's short fuse.

So he allowed a tiny distraction.

And it proved fatal, because the distraction he allowed himself ended up in getting a message that pretty much warped his perspective of the world.

"...You are Scarron's daughter?" He NEEDED confirmation. He could have sworn Scarron was gayer than Fate. Either of them.

She merely smiled. "It's true! I am this place's administrator." She pointed out, clearly not surprised by his reaction. Nobody should be. If you weren't surprised there was something wrong with you. She seemed a bit too close, but since they were rather cramped close to the sink, it was inevitable.

He was just thankful he wasn't made to cook. He really should have had Satsuki teach him at some point. Would've made his life easier and less dependent on his horrible cooking skills.

At the very least, the men's lips were loose. Several mentions of nobles abusing their authority came to Negi's ears. It was hard to explain why he wrote on an entirely different language to Jessica, but she seemed to take his weirdness in stride. Louise had an enforced free time, courtesy of Scarron, mostly because she seemed at the end of her nerves, and an explosion would soon ensue if she didn't calm.

She was grumbling about having to wear a stupidly short skirt and having to let commoners touch her where she didn't want them to when she just happened to look Negi's way. He seemed to be having a fairly good time while doing the dishes, and while it was a demeaning task to her, at least he seemed to be having fun.

Then again, Louise's eyes pretty much glued themselves to Jessica's rack, and it was not due to the locket she wore.

"So even he wants a pair of breasts..." She didn't know wether to be angry, sad or frustrated. Her stupid little girl body was the bane of her existence these times. However, their conversation seemed as animate as it could be.

He turned her way, and smiled at her. A stupid, encouraging smile telling her to do her best.

She didn't need to be told that. She was on a mission for the princess.

She was still sort of frisky for the rest of the day, but to her credit, no one else was bathed in wine for the day, although she made sure to step extra hard on the toe of an overweight man who'd groped her ass a bit too much.

Minimal tips, but it was a start.

Meanwhile, her familiar was still doing his best to discreetly write anything that caught his curiosity. When it was time to close, someone had to take out all the waste and trash. Considering the amount of bottles of wine consumed on every night, it wasn't a task for anyone. Normally, Scarron did it, but since they had someone else to do it today, Negi pretty much volunteered.

He didn't expect Jessica to follow him outside. "Hey..." She began, smiling rather noticeably and knowingly. "Louise's not your sister." It wasn't a question, merely a statement. "At first glance, you are similar enough, but you two are too different when past appearances." Enough proof for him to believe she wasn't fishing for a confirmation. "You don't look like lovers, either... Well, you don't, at least. Though I think I have a guess."

Negi smiled, a bit uneasily Mostly because of the implications of what she'd just said. "You think she is..?" He asked.

She just nodded, without hesitation. "She is kind of obvious. I mean, she didn't even know how to carry a tray." She giggled lightly at his rather dejected face. "She is far too proud to pass as a commoner."

"I feared that." Negi finished, sighing dejectedly as he placed the _many_ bottles on an ever growing pile. How they dealt with thrash disposal was beyond him at the time.

"So, now that I have confirmed that she is a noble... Are you a servant?" She asked.

"Not really, although she does treat me as one." Jessica tilted her head. "Though I need to ask you not to talk about this to anyone."

"I thought so. You seem different from any other man I have ever seen. If I had to guess, I'd say you remind me of the Princess." Negi cringed, though she didn't notice, as he had his back to her. "Who are you, Negi?"

"I am Negi Springfield." He smiled at her.

"Come on, tell me! I won't tell anyone!"

He shook his head. "I would rather not cause more trouble for Louise. She's already at the limits of her nerves." She pouted and glomped him.

"Please?"

"Not gonna work."

She pouted harder.

He shook his head again. She grinned and grabbed one of his arms by the wrist. She placed it on her butt, while changing modes from cute to sexy in half an instant. She pressed herself against him, and was pleased when she elicited a blush. "Aren't you gonna tell me?"

Louise performed a save by virtue of showing up looking for Negi, an angered scowl on her face. "I can't leave you alone for two seconds!" she yelled.

Jessica let go of her prey, and turned to Louise with a knowing smirk. "Ah, and you have time to worry about your brother's love life but not to do your work?" She started, while Negi raised both hands, trying to placate the conflict before it began. "I guess it can't be helped, with such a small..."

Louise's hands shot to cover her already, if scantily, covered chest. "Having small breasts doesn't make me a little girl!" She yelled, blushing considerably.

Negi wisely decided not to point out the fact that she did, in fact, look no older than twelve.

"Just you watch! I will be the best if I take it seriously!"

"Ah, yes?" Jessica was definitely enjoying it too much, and gleefully ignoring Negi's pleading eyes to not further anger her. It was clear she was his superior, in some way, even if by her own logic it should have been the other way around. "Then, I guess you will have no problems winning the Tip Race?"

"Of course I will win!" And she only caught on to the fact that her pride had once again bitten her in the ass too late. She really had to think things through before making stupid boasts, regardless of wether or not the last time she'd done it she ended up exceeding her own expectations.

Jessica directed one last smirk at Negi, as if confirming it was payback for not telling her about whatever secret he was holding, and then retreated back into the building, leaving a fuming Louise and a defeated Negi behind.

* * *

Louise didn't have a good week. What she _did_ have was a newfound respect for the 'fairies'. Mostly because she was already beginning to think about murdering the jackasses that kept trying to grope her. It was only Negi and Scarron's combined efforts to get her to calm down that had allowed her to earn any tips whatsoever.

Having to ask her familiar to hold her in her sleep was beyond embarrassing by this point, and she was loathe to admit she actively preferred sleeping that way, but the damn flying rodents always seemed to be around where no one wanted them. Jessica had been relentless on her teasing, and Negi proved useless in defending her from that.

He was definitely enjoying playing the part of a big brother a bit too much. The only saving grace she had was that at the very least, she was well fed, though having to wear Negi's glasses to go to a restaurant was getting annoying.

Her magic had made almost no progress whatsoever. She was incapable of using even the most basic spells that Negi knew, even if she had at the very least gotten some control of the explosions' properties... Mostly their size.

She stared at the filled tables, trying her best to ignore the lusty gaze that the glasses wearing bald, fat regular on the table closest to her was giving her (it seemed that no matter how much she beat him, he always came back and _always_ picked her. It was starting to creep her out) and proceeded to go back to the kitchen to collect exactly that man's order.

It had already dawned on her that she was nowhere near first. She was actually dead last. She only had _one_ regular customer, who, despite tipping her rather generously, could not compete with having two or three regulars infatuated with you, like most girls had.

It was only when she'd already done her best to smile while slapping that same bald man's hand away from her butt (he seemed to like it) that the proverbial shit hit the proverbial fan. A man who redefined the word fugly came through the door, dressed in hideous and undersized green formal wear, being accompanied by a contingent of guards best left undescribed.

At least the men behind him were not disgusting to look at. It was clear her opinion was shared, as all men cringed at the sight, and the girls went from happy go lucky to frowning in obvious disgust.

"Ah Ah! Lord Turene, you are most welcome!" Scarron yelled, hopping over to him, while trying his best to appear as friendly as an extremely flamboyant man could appear.

"It seems you are rather animated..."

"N-No, today is an exception! During the day, this is depressingly empty..." Louise was wondering why Scarron seemed so... afraid of the man. Well, he _did_ come in with guards trailing behind him, guards which didn't look particularly friendly.

"I don't want excuses. Today I am here as a client." The fat, slimy bastard spoke.

"Unfortunately, we are filled to the brim." Scarron was clearly enjoying the chance to shoo him away, while talking as friendly as possible.

"I don't think so..." Turene replied, taking a side glance at his guards.

It was like something out of a play. It was amazing how fast people cleared out when a group of nobles order them away. If nothing else, Louise could commend the fact that Scarron promised to make up for all the men who lost their money that day.

The fattest guy you know laughed as he took an empty seat, conveniently cleaned by one of the 'fairies' as the clients left. It would not do to have Turene wait, because he didn't like being made to wait.

"You didn't lie with how depressingly empty this place gets!" Turene laughed out loud, clearly making an effort to make it sound as stereotypical of a noble as possible. Then he looked around. "Hey, why is there no one serving Her Highness' task collector?"

"... So, Turene the Tax Collector for this district... Personal witness..." Negi muttered as he wrote on a sheet of paper. Jessica turned to face him, tilting her head in confusion. It was these times that Negi was glad he could speak a variety of languages these people hadn't ever heard of. "Who is this man?"

"He is the tax collector for this district. Those who confront him end up receiving big taxes, so nobody dares to cross him." Jessica spoke, clear anger rising to her voice. "He touches you everywhere and doesn't even leave a tip!"

"Well, it explains why nobody wants to serve him..." Negi spoke.

Said tax collector was busy being an annoying jackass while Scarron tried his best to please him as he could. It was clear that he did not enjoy having to entertain Turene, but the sacrifice could be respected. Negi was used to dealing with his type. Those who think their power can be abused.

Then, the worst had to happen. A fairy in white approached Turene's table. Negi was already feeling the sweat building up. Something would go _very_ wrong, and since Louise was carrying a concealed wand, it could be dangerous. Maybe helping her make Stealth Explosions was a bad idea after all...

Even Jessica was utterly stupified. More by the almost perfect fake of a smile Louise had plastered on her face. "Louise..?" It was a shocker. Negi was more intrigued... by how long it would take for her to blow up. Then again, Scarron would not be able to pull a save here...

"Sir, you look handsome today!" She said, in a surprisingly good act, laying down a glass and a bottle of wine on a tray.

The other fairies began praying for her innocence.

The man lecherously looked at her up and down, settling on her breasts. "Huh... now you let boys work here too?" Turene asked, turning to Scarron, who looked away sheepishly.

"He's actually correct..." Someone pointed out.

"... Not that we're complaining..." Someone else replied.

"... Gives us something nice to look at..." Scarron finished.

The man laughed, ignoring the conversation going on amongst the fairies and Scarron. "Ah, if I look better, it is just a girl with small breasts..." His perverted smile widened. "Let's see how big they really are..."

At the very least, he got an eyeful of Louise's panties. Though his face kind of stung now.

Negi sighed. Everyone else went for a surprised, shocked scream.

"How dare you, commoner girl?" One of the guards spoke in a low, dangerous voice. Or he would have, if he was actually offended by that. You see, it kind of happens when you don't like your employer.

"Forgive her, please!" Scarron begged, wiggling in place next to Louise (he'd somehow managed to slide there without anyone noticing him. Negi was beginning to think Scarron might actually be a ninja and everything was an act to throw people off his trail. It was certainly better than Kaede's I-Am-So-Not-A-Ninja act...). "She's still new!"

"SHUT UP!" Yelled Turene as he got up and knocked the table, and all of its contents, out of his way. For all of his fat, he seemed surprisingly agile to get up. "How could you touch my beautiful face?"

A general cry of dissent went unheard. I would like to point out that attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder, though I don't know what kind of beholder would find Turene attractive.

Negi stepped in between them, giving the guards his back. People were mildly surprised when a man in what looked like a combat outfit and a dishwasher's apron popped out of nowhere. He placed a hand on one of Louise's shoulders. "... We'll talk about making things harder for ourselves later, Louise."

"Shut up, you too! How dare she kick the face of a noble?" the man continued, getting more worked up by the minute.

Negi turned to face Turene. "Stand down. I am sure this can be resolved with words." The redhead spoke, while standing completely still.

"W-What? You dare order me? Take them both!" Turene yelled, pointing his finger at the place where there were actually three people.

Negi sighed again, then closed his eyes as the guards drew their weapons again. He focused on a particular skill he'd honed with much aid from a certain blonde vampire. "I am Negi Springfield." He said, opening his eyes. You see, there is something about that glare that makes people run away from you very fast. He didn't have it on Evangeline's level, but he'd get there, eventually.

Turene almost dropped a deuce on the spot. "W-What? It can't be! Guards, GET HIM!" He seemed to recover fairly fast, however, and spurred his guards forward again. They seemed glued to their spots.

"Please, leave this establishment peacefully." Negi asked, smiling in the same way Evangeline would when she really got into the whole evil vampire witch thing.

Many surprised gasps were heard.

Turene dropped on his ass. "Y-You are! The monster that turned Mott into a gibbering wreck? GET HIM! KILL HIM ALREADY!"

This seemed to snap the guards out of their stupor. As the three wielding swords rushed forward, the sound of the air crystallizing on the spot made everyone focus on the fact that they were wielding useless hilts that seemed to have been frozen on the spot. A translucent blade of what looked like pure light was streaming down from Negi's wrist.

The guards, experienced men, cleared out for the artillery, as the mages in the back got ready to cast a joint fireball... And they exploded.

Louise, her expression set in an annoyed scowl, pointed her wand at Turene next. "Let's see you call me flat again." She said, narrowing her eyes. "And even after I tried to be nice!"

Negi coughed. She'd gone and done a very bad job at pretending to be a good waitress. He hoped she'd learned by this point...

"Y-you... You're a noble?"

"I won't give my name to such a low ranked officer!" she snapped. "Before you regret it, leave this place in silence!"

Turene was at an impasse. He wasn't gonna let a little girl boss him around like that. But she seemed to have a monster by her side, and if any of the tales were to go by (although he had difficulty believing them), then he would regret it indeed.

Then again, it was a distinct possibility that she'd just heard the tales and was trying to abuse Negi Springfield's reputation to make her servant seem more imposing. "You must be a disgraced noble!" Turene snarled with equal ferocity to Louise's own snarl. "Who the hell do you think I am!-?"

Negi had to commend Louise on using the status certificate as padding. It had been a great place to hide it, since she was not gonna let anyone touch her there.

Turene blanched. "A certificate from the Royal Court!-? If you are a high ranked noble... Then he really is..."

His heart would explode any minute now. He was now well and truly scared shitless. "P-Please, could you forget this? I beg you!" he dug on his shirt for a coin pouch.

Negi smiled, then turning to Louise, clearly telling her to take the reins. "Forget everything you saw or heard here. If I hear that you talk about anything that happened here..." She then turned menacingly to Negi. Being capable of using her familiar as a threat felt REALLY good.

"YES! I won't tell anyone of your presence here, your excellency!"

Holy shit could he run fast.

"That was awesome, Louise! You took care of that perverted demon!"

Louise realized, praise felt _really_ good. Being mobbed by people singing her praise was something she could get used to.

Negi meanwhile went to talk with Scarron, who turned around and wagged a finger. "This store does not interfere with its employees' personal matters. But for all that it is worth, we all knew already. We heard nothing, right fairies?"

"Of course, Mi Mademoiselle!"

"Well, I'll be damned. You did win after all." Jessica commented, clearly amused by the turn of events, as she tossed the last bag of 'tips' given by Turene into a table.

"But that's a bribe..."

"It counts as a tip in our books, right papa?" Jessica replied, smirking proudly.

"Oui! The winner for this week's tip race is Miss Louise!" Scarron declared.

Everyone joined that cheer.

* * *

"I did gather enough for the princess to be satisfied with our work. I hope. I have about two dozen names who fit the description." Negi pointed out, resting against the wall. The cramped room that they shared would not be missed, even though it'd been a while since Negi last slept on an actual bed. "Though I think I will miss everyone here."

Louise didn't reply. She seemed busy with something. Negi being who he is, he didn't pry. Since he had a minute, he moved to the still open window and gazed at the two moons again. Throughout the whole week, while teaching Louise the basic theory behind his magic, he'd been receiving lessons from her in return.

So far, nothing of much value was accomplished on either end. Louise was getting a hang of basic spells, but they still exploded. Negi would wait until they were back in the academy to test a theory of his.

Again, he saw Phobos and Deimos in the sky. They weren't the same. Not even close, really. Not with Deimos sporting a rather impressive moon base and Hakase's summer house. But they were still evocative of the image. Dwelling on it would be useless now. Research was fruitless, but he was far from giving up.

"N-Negi..." It was strange for Louise to sound so demure...

He blinked. "Isn't that..."

"Yes." She replied, more securely. "Since I already had it, I thought I could wear it... It'd be a waste otherwise."

Negi had to actively try to tear his eyes away from her. The thing's enchantments had to be _powerful_.

Derflinger was heard whistling. How, Negi had absolutely no idea. Neither did he particularly care, however.

"How do I look?"

Negi raised a finger. Then he dropped it and rubbed his chin with his other hand. Then he raised that finger again. "You look very cute, Louise!" He said, smiling brightly, leaving her as a blushing mess.

"Thank you, big bro." She said, doing her best imitation of a little sister with a not entirely healthy crush on her big brother.

Negi almost choked, as Louise began laughing. Once he regained the ability to breathe properly, he noticed that she was no longer blushing, but she was still laughing like a maniac. "Okay, that was a low blow!" He replied, pouting.

"... That one is payback for all the times you did the same to me." Louise replied, smirking. "I think I love this bustier."

"I am glad you like it, Master..." He said, smiling again. It was further progress. At least she no longer went to violence for payback. Always a plus. Though he wondered how Chachamaru survived Evangeline for so long. Man, it's _hard_ to take care of a loli master.

She giggled slightly. Then, she pulled something he hadn't expected her to from the space where her breasts should have been. Namely, a flat, rectangular object that Negi recognized all too well. "It's about time you explained to me what this card says. I can't read anything on it."

"The card in and of itself doesn't really matter much. For someone with the capability to read them, it will tell them something about the Minister. I am not entirely certain about most of the card's attributes, but I can read the writing on them. It is written in a language called Latin." He explained, feeling the need to be Mr. Exposition as always.

"Then... What does it say?"

"It says Negius Springfieldes Entheophysia."

"En-de-oh-fi-sia?" he didn't blame her for mispronouncing that. It had, indeed, been a nightmare to get people to get it right. Sure, ex Vespertatians had no trouble with it, but anyone who didn't have Latin as their native tongue was liable to terribly mangle his name.

"Entheophysia. My mother's surname."

Louise nodded. "And what does it say below it?"

"That is my title. Huh... it's strange... It reads 'Regius Immortalis'..."

Louise craned her head up to stare at Negi, who seemed to be frowning in thought while looming above her. "What does that mean?"

"It means Regal Immortal." Negi said, plainly, before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. How strange...

Okay, now it was something that caught Louise's attention. "Regal... Immortal?" She ignored the fact that her movement caused her to expose her panties. There was no one to see them, anyway.

"Oh... I never did tell you, did I? I am immortal, Master." Such a bomb to drop so casually. "Even if I am killed, I won't die."

Louise took two seconds to process that one. Then, with confusion clear on her face, she pointed at him. "Are you serious?" She asked.

"Entirely." He then grabbed Derflinger from where it was resting against the same wall he had been on not too long ago, having to stand up to reach it. "Didn't you remember when the Golem hit me, Master? It shattered my ribs, the pieces were lodged in my organs, and if I had to guess, I'd say it fractured my skull too. Serves me right for not preparing physical barriers."

Louise was making a mess of herself, as any attempts at clearing her train of thought were becoming harder and harder to process. She'd seen him do the kinds of things that were nothing short of outright insane, but she'd always had the underlying suspicion that he healed himself right after.

"Although, it's odd that I took so long to recover from that... It shouldn't have stopped me at all, now that I think about it..." he mused, totally ignoring Louise's still shocked face.

"Oi, Partner, what are you doing?" The sword asked, when Negi pulled it just a bit from its sheath.

"Just a experiment, Derflinger." He ran his left hand through the sword's edge, creating a noticeably deep gash, much to Louise's shock. However, she was still on the process of stomaching the fact that her familiar had just called himself immortal. He proceeded to clean the sword with a napkin (that he only later remembered he'd have to wash ASAP) and then used that same napkin to not get blood on Scarron's floor.

He showed her the bloody palm, with the still flowing red, hot meaning of life. He showed Louise the wound. It took a full minute, but then, the wound was gone, and the blood _dissipated_ from his hand. There was no scar, no mark, no nothing. It was as if there had been no wound at all.

"Huh... That's odd. It should have been instant..." Negi commented, frowning once again. "I think I'll have to look into this when I have a minute."

"Partner, I think you should tell me about those sorts of things."

"Don't complain, stupid sword. I'm his master and he didn't tell _me_." Louise pointed out, then turned to glare at Negi. "You made me worry for nothing!"

"I'm sorry, Master!"

"And... Why Regal Immortal? Who are you, really?"

Negi dropped his amused smile only the slightest bit before it was back. "... I am the son of two great mages of my world. Nagi Springfield, my father, who was also known as the Thousand Master. A hero renowned for ending a war and saving the world, and then dedicating himself to saving lives wherever he could until he disappeared."

"And what about your mother?" Louise asked. Her familiar was apparently _not_ as normal as she'd expected. He seemed stranger and stranger every minute. She ignored her pride and ego inflating for having summoned the son of a great hero.

"My mother was Queen Arika Anarchia Entheophysia of Vespertatia, also known as the Queen Of Calamity, who sacrificed her kingdom to stop a cataclysmic event that would have destroyed her world." Even Louise could notice he was fond of the woman. Must have been a great mother, and it kind of made Louise jealous that he could have an actual relationship with his mother. "She died giving birth to me."

And then even that crashed down and Louise could no longer ignore the giant elephant in the room.

"... B-But... If your mother was a queen..."

"Yes, I am the Crown Prince to the kingdom of Vespertatia."

Louise fell on her butt, completely stunned at first. Then she worked her jaw a few times, as if trying to say something. She was past the point where she wouldn't trust her familiar. It was hard to believe. Hard to chew. Hard to swallow. "B-B-But... You said you aren't a noble!"

"I am not, Master. Vespertatia is a fallen kingdom. I was working on reinstating it, but it is not a simple process and will most likely take a couple more years..."

Ignoring that completely, Louise quickly kneeled in front of him. "I'm sorry, Your Highness! Please, forgive me for my disrespect! I will take any punishment!"

Negi pouted. Formality like that annoyed him to no end. He really had to ask Theodora how she got her subjects to refer to her in whatever way she wanted them to.

* * *

**Omake: Some Things Just Aren't Worth It**

Negi was on the verge of tears. "You can't be serious." He said, taking a step back. "Please, tell me it's a joke. I know I suggested you two could find something to agree on, but please tell me it is not this!"

Both sporting perverse and completely evil grins, Jessica and Louise shook their heads. The pinketter reached and pulled his glasses off his face...

_some time later..._

Negi, a blushing, embarrassed mess, poured a man his wine. "How may I serve you tonight, my dear master?"

He just happened to be considerably larger than everyone else. Therefore, the bustiers that were small on the girls were positively minuscule on him. It just so happened to be that he was _that_ convincing a crossdresser.

Scarron was busy wiping the blood streaming down his nose, as were most of the fairies. Louise, meanwhile, fist bumped Jessica, in the universal sign language that translated to "We're pals now".

What Louise had most enjoyed about it was the great feast that followed. That was a lot of tips.


	10. My Familiar Is A What Now?

AND HERE WE ARE! We're the princes of the universe!

Also, the title should be fairly easy to understand as a joke if you are a troper.

The Flying Frog: Thank you. And if you want a quick laugh, the reason I'm posting this is entirely because of Overmaster, also known as SobreMaestro or Napoleon De Cheese, who told me to get my ass in gear and post it one evening while we were discussing the differences in our Siestas. Mainly, one wanting desperately to bone Negi while the other would find the idea utterly creepy.

To everyone else, as always, thank you for the reviews.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 10: In Vino Veritas

The academy was surprisingly empty. "Are we on some kind of holiday?" he asked, turning to Louise. He'd avoided the horse. Mostly because it was awkward riding with Louise, as his hands would travel to less than appropriate areas of their own accord.

"It is the summer break, so everyone either went back to their homes or is traveling." The pinkette on a horse (which she was not riding backwards, much to the Old Spice Guy's chagrin) answered. It made Negi wonder why Louise wasn't doing exactly the same thing, but maybe she just wanted to hang around the academy.

It wasn't something that he was unfamiliar with.

Then, as he was walking beside Louise's horse (which made her wonder how the hell he could walk so much and not be tired at all), lost in his musings, he noticed her abruptly stopping.

"Oh, Louise..." Kirche. Louise's personal, top berserk button given human form. After so long around the Enchanting Fairies, Kirche wearing the school uniform was a welcome sight. "Since you weren't around, I thought you had gone home already."

"We were out on an errand..." And she omitted that it was an errand for the princess, because it was a top secret mission.

Kirche turned to Negi, who was sporting his usual "I don't know what's going on" smile. "Ah, darling!" They were close in height, but Kirche still had to jump to properly glomp him. Negi, in any other occasion, would have given her a seven for the effort. "Sorry I won't see you in a while!"

It was his curse that he'd be suffocated by marshmallow hell.

Louise was torn. She didn't know whether to laugh at Negi's predicament or to explode Kirche. The notion of touching Negi registered far off, because she was still very much reeling back from an earlier revelation. Thankfully, the redheaded Germanian Bombshell provided a more than adequate distraction... to her own actions. "I will visit Tabitha's house."

Okay, _that_ was unexpected. Well, they _were_ climbing a coach together. What _had_ Louise been thinking they'd be up to alone, far away from anyone who could hear their screams, of pleasure or otherwise?

… Yeah, Louise? Nothing too much. To be fair she was actually thinking about what Tabitha's house would be like. Me? I'm fairly sure lots of yuri subtext will arise from that trip.

"Okay, darlings, have a good summer break!" Kirche dashed her way to the coach, because she was as giddy as a school girl had the right to be about visiting a friend's house for the first time.

And then there were two, one waving at them while the other was beginning to fall for the perverted thoughts. All in all, the only thing that was achieved was reinforcing Louise's belief that association to Kirche and Negi was effectively crushing her decency and tossing the bits randomly to the four winds. Then using wind magic to scatter them further.

"... I wonder where Tabitha lives..."

* * *

Much comforting with romantic overtones ensued somewhere in Gallia, but let's not get into that.

Back in the academy, it wasn't an uncommon sight to see Negi on a late night errand. Or simply walking around the academy, looking to return a book to the library. Unlike Tabitha, he didn't buy them, being a familiar without a penny to his name.

Neither was it weird to see him chatting amicably with the staff. It was something that most people, who believed him to be a disgraced noble of some sort, weren't entirely sure about.

This particular time, he happened to meet up with Siesta in a manner that was completely not engineered by the maid, no sir.

"... Really?" Siesta asked, because it was hard to swallow.

"Yes." He didn't seem particularly fond of that memory.

Siesta giggled, because the mere image of Negi in a skimpy bustier was enough to send most people into hysterics. The image of him, when you know he's a basically unbeatable badass mage, made it even funnier.

"Though I'm more surprised by the fact that Scarron is your uncle, really..." Admitted Negi. "... I could have sworn he was..."

"Jessica took us all by surprise." Siesta agreed. "Say, can you tell me a bit about your world?"

"Which of them?" Negi asked, ignoring the moons in the distance. He noticed Siesta's confused stare. "The world I was born in is called Earth, or Mundus Vetus by the population of the _other_ world, called Mundus Magicus. Mundus Magicus is rather similar to this world, although we have a couple hundred years' worth of social, political, scientific and technological advances on Halkeginia. Earth has only one moon, while Mundus Magicus has two. They are called Phobos and Deimos."

He'd slipped into lecture mode, the same mode every teacher uses when he wants to rant and doesn't want his students to interrupt him, and pretty clearly tells that he doesn't want you to question whatever he's saying: That is how it is and there's nothing around it.

"In Earth, there are very few mages, and we spend our days working for the greater good. The population of mages were kept secret until a very short time ago, and as you can imagine, Mundus Magicus is the place where the majority of mages live. Everyone there is capable of at the very least basic magic, and it is used by everyone for everyday activities."

"You're making fun of me because I'm from the countryside, aren't you?"

"Siesta, I don't make fun of anyone... other than Kotaro..." He said, mumbling the last part. "In any case, I assure you that I am completely serious. Though I am sugar coating it a bit, I admit. It is not that simple..."

She did seem really intrigued, if a bit disbelieving, of his wild tales. She did mention that one of her ancestors used to tell similar stories, which was the only reason she even considered believing his words. It was just too much in too little time to believe him otherwise. After all, a world where the most powerful people are commoners (although wealthy commoners) was something she could only dream about otherwise.

She would more readily believe that he was a political figure on his world. Mostly because he did carry himself in a manner that inspired respect (and several other things) on everyone he came across.

It was then that Negi and Siesta came across Guiche, who seemed a bit lost in the night. It was to be expected. The blond fop was probably going for a girl.

"Ah, Negi..." He seemed nervous. It was weird. Normally, he was a ball of confidence and, fake as it might be, bravado. "... I was kind of hoping I could speak with you in private, but I have no objection with her company..."

Both Negi and Siesta stared at him in confusion. "What is it, Guiche?"

Guiche swallowed. "Negi. I have heard that you are a master of seduction, and I have seen firsthand your abilities... Could you teach me to be a better ladies' man?"

Okay, that came out of nowhere. Negi frowned, but said nothing.

"I want to win Montmorency over! I have offended her in the past, and since you are such a gentleman, I was wondering if..."

Negi smiled, then turned to Siesta. "Excuse me for a second."

The maid was left alone for a good minute and a half, in which Negi took Guiche under his arm and they began conspiring. It was not something commonly seen. Guiche seemed to be nodding at regular intervals, making appreciative noises and humming in affirmation every time Negi stopped ranting.

"... Siesta, would you be opposed to a demonstration?" Negi asked, turning to the maid again.

Like hell she would be, if the demonstration was what she thought it was. Life is kinda cool some times.

* * *

A pinkette crossed a blonde. A few words were exchanged. Mutual pity to the men in their lives was given. Mutual pity to each other, as well. At least they understood the problem of having to maintain a relationship, either friendship or deeper, with them. One because hers was a skirt chaser and the other because hers was chased by skirts. All with just a single glance at each other.

The joys of sharing pain.

"What are you doing this late at night?"

"Looking for Negi. What are you doing this late at night?"

"Waiting for Guiche."

So Louise went off to find Negi, and if she came across Guiche, tell him to hurry the hell up. Maybe explode him, too. After all, he did make a lady wait.

What she found, however, made her temper flare once again. Guiche was standing a few feet away from a couple. A couple she recognized all too well. It was that maid that was always after Negi, and of course, the cursed with awesome redhead himself. The problem was how she'd caught them.

Siesta pretty much melted in his arms, letting herself get carried away by the situation. A few comments on technique and otherwise perverted remarks were heard in a particular sword's voice.

Louise, completely incapable of anything other than that, dropped everything, turned and ran, wondering, all the while, why she was so angry, why she was so sad and why she wanted so bad to get drunk right at that moment. So she didn't even ask Montmorency permission, she simply snatched both glasses and downed them, before departing for her room.

She didn't stick around to hear Montmorency's screams.

Meanwhile, Guiche nodded and lamented the fact that he hadn't something to take notes on. "And that is how you do it."

"... Can we do this again..?" the blushing maid asked. "I don't think I got it..."

"You are a god amongst men, Negi." Guiche spoke, appreciatively rubbing his chin.

On the upside, Montmorency and Guiche had a great night.

* * *

It was only until much later, once Negi was certain Guiche wouldn't screw up, that he decided to retire to the bedroom he shared with Louise. He may or may not have done battle with Cthulhu in the way.

"Good night, master." He said, taking a seat on one of the two available chairs after placing Derflinger to rest against a wall. "I apologize for arriving so late, but I spent some time with Siesta and Guiche."

Louise scoffed. "Yeah, right." She replied, looking completely deadpan. "I'm sure you enjoyed it." now that was just unnecessarily sarcastic.

"I always enjoy spending time with my friends." He was confused. It was odd for her to be so angry without any real reason.

"You think you can fool your master..?" She said, her tone dangerously low. Her face was flushed, and once she began dropping her deadpan expression, replacing it with something that seemed _feverish_, he began getting worried.

"Master, are you alright?" He was next to her in a flash, looking at her from far too close for what would normally be comfortable.

"Who cares about that?" She tried to sound angry, but it only came out as the tired mumbling of a person whose fever was getting far too high. When she fell limp, Negi began getting frantic. He should have learned how to heal diseases with his magic. It would've helped the feeling of impotence.

"Negi..."

She looked up at him, from where she found herself in his arms. "Master..."

She buried her face on his silken shirt. "Why did you choose her over me..?" she asked, sounding so sad and sorrowful that it, indeed, pretty much made him feel like the worst human being on earth.

"Master, what is wrong?" However, what she was saying flew right over him.

"Negi... I love you!"

He blinked. Then he looked at her. "... Master, are you serious?"

Louise nodded. "I love you more than anything else, Negi."

Then again, this was so wildly out of character that anyone who was used to the world of politics caught up on it. There had to be something weird going on. A drug or mind control in some shape or form had to be involved.

"It's exactly what I expected..." Came a somewhat nervous voice from the door. Negi turned around, and conveniently ignored Louise jumping onto his lap. He did, however, move to be as comfortable a chair as possible.

"... Would you mind explaining?" Negi asked, fixing his sight on the blonde.

Guiche soon came in behind her, entirely confused. "It was a love potion... Louise drank it by mistake... You were just there when the potion began affecting her..."

"Well, I can't say I'm not relieved it's just that." Negi spoke. "Last time I drank a love potion, it had the completely reverse effect, and _that_ would have been a problem."

"You mean you could actually be more effective at this?"

Negi nodded solemnly. Guiche would soon enough begin building the Church to the Man Amongst Men. But right now, he had more pressing matters. "Montmorency, did you prepare that for me?" Guiche's voice was a cross between bewildered and flattered. "How beautiful! It feels good to know that you'd go that far to catch my heart!"

"... Wait, are love potions illegal here too?" Negi asked, stopping the two lovers before they could start. Guiche had already proven he was a fast learner in these matters.

"Well, yes." Montmorency replied. "But... Nobody would've found out..."

"Right now, it doesn't matter. How long will it last?" He asked, repositioning Louise so she could nuzzle against his chest without restricting access to his arms.

"Between a month and a year." Montmorency replied, taking a second to think it through.

Negi facepalmed, knowing full well that he could rattle and subsequently wake up Louise. He was a bit too frustrated to care. Guiche very visibly cringed and began wondering if he'd _really_ made the wrong choice there. Katie's souffles weren't bad at all...

"Tell me, is it an alchemic, purely physical, potion or is it an enchantment?" Negi asked, turning to the retreating Montmorency.

"... Why does that matter?" She asked, clearly curious. She almost took a seat on Louise's table, but the familiar was very clearly not in the best of moods, even if he was trying to mask that fact.

"Because if it is an enchantment, then I can break it. If it's a chemical-based potion, then there won't be anything I can do other than look for a cure." His reasoning was valid enough.

"It's an alchemic potion." Montmorency said, hesitantly.

"Aw, dangit... Well... We'll talk about the cure tomorrow. Right now, I need to put Master to bed. Good night."

With the conversation over, Montmorency and Guiche went away to do god knows what.

* * *

Negi was not used to having Louise cling to him so much. It wasn't something he was entirely unfamiliar with, lord knows he'd met his fair share of clingy people, being Negi Springfield, but that didn't make it any more comfortable. The fact that her hands kept straying to less than acceptable places was just icing on the cake of wrongness that the situation was. He was just glad Derflinger prevented her asking for a piggyback ride.

It just made his day more troublesome and problematic. Mostly because he could not really bring himself to say no to Louise. Every time he removed her from himself, without a crowbar because he wasn't sure if those had been invented, she'd tear up and make keeping her away utterly impossible. At least she'd given him the day off laundry.

And possibly the rest of his life, which he wasn't entirely against. Though he'd have to find an excuse to meet up with Siesta. Maybe he could just continue helping her with her chores. After all, she'd helped him with his.

The only upside of the whole incident was that Louise felt comfortable enough in his presence to not be afraid of him. She seemed to have respect to the crown ingrained into her mind, and seeing him as a fair and just prince, she'd been distant ever since their last night at the mansion.

Proof that he was still able to see the best of any situation, if nothing else.

"Where are you going, Negi..?" Louise asked, walking a bit too close, clinging to his arm.

"I am going to the library. Normally, I would go there during your classes, but there are no classes right now, so..." And she nodded in understanding. She didn't let go of him, but hey, at least she didn't want him to stay in her room anymore. He wasn't against bringing her to the library. She was more acquainted with it and could probably direct him to the books worth a damn instead of having to slowly comb through it.

Problem was, he doubted that that would happen if they were alone in the library, and he wasn't entirely certain about taking his chances being alone in a room with Louise.

"Partner, maybe you should have left before she woke up." Negi found himself unconsciously agreeing with his sword. It wasn't uncommon. The sword was indeed an experienced old man.

The pinkette seemed happy enough with that arrangement, however. She was probably thinking of exactly the same thing he'd been. And with her physical proximity to her beloved, it was clear she wasn't going to try something similar anyway. Though Negi did notice her glare at the approaching maid as they walked, he chose to ignore it.

"Good day, Negi." Said a happily smiling Siesta, who didn't seem too particularly in this world. She seemed to still have yesterday's daze. "May we continue yesterday's lessons on Lord Guiche?" She was barely holding onto the clothes basket she carried.

"Actually, I have another lesson scheduled this afternoon, I would be thankful if you could come." Negi admitted, to which Louise began tearing up and turned from glaring at Siesta to looking like a wounded puppy.

"Negi, why do you do it with her but not with me?" She asked, sounding more than a bit hurt. Negi felt like a monster. He often did because of his tendencies.

"Master, you are under the influence of a powerful drug, and I understand that it is clouding your judgment. If you truly wish to have that kind of relationship with me, I'd be glad to reciprocate, but only when you are sober." He explained, his reasoning clear and simple. Louise was already temperamental and prone to letting her emotions, mostly anger, take over. Giving her an actual reason to be pissed would probably be suicidal.

"A powerful drug?" Siesta asked, clearly confused.

"Yes. She ingested a love potion by accident last night. Now you know why they are illegal." Negi said, sighing.

"Ah." And it did explain that.

Then something hit Louise. "How dare you, a commoner, speak so casually to His Highness?" It was a leftover sign of the fact that she was, indeed, a noble. Recent events had drilled into her the fact that the commoners didn't have it easy at all and that they were, indeed, people, but it was still a work in progress.

And then Siesta snapped out of her pleasant mood. "... His Highness?" She asked, sounding a mix of confused and curious.

"Lord Negi is a prince from a far away kingdom! You have no right to stand in his presence!"

Okay, that was mean spirited. Siesta gasped in shock at the revelation, dropping her basket to cover her mouth as she did. "Is that true?"

Negi sighed. "Of a long gone kingdom, yes." He would have to talk to Louise about being mean to Siesta some time later. When she wasn't being a bitch in heat, possibly. "I am as much of an aristocrat as you, Siesta. I didn't grow up in a palace. I grew up in a nameless village, with my cousin as a surrogate mother."

She believed him. As much of a regal aura as he had, he'd never come out anywhere near as condescending or aloof as nobles did. He instead provoked respect (And other, less wholesome feelings) in her. Even when carrying a sword he was very clearly inoffensive. However, it was still a hard revelation to take. She still smiled and bowed. "I apologize for my disrespect, Your Highness. Long gone or not, if I could choose a king, it'd be you, Negi." She admitted shamelessly.

"Don't call me that." He pouted at her, and Siesta giggled. He was thankful the maid didn't seem to let it affect her opinion of him negatively. "... Why did you do that, Louise?" He asked, turning to the pinkette who was in actual shock at the perceived disrespect. However, she was too busy trying to gain Negi's heart to dwell in that for long.

She didn't bother answering that. "... If it's okay with you, then..." Louise said, casually. "But... Why don't you like me, Negi?"

"I do like you, Master." He said, steeling himself because it was indeed getting harder to put up with Louise's clinging and jealousy. Maybe right now was the moment for some of his actually harmless spells, but he wasn't particularly fond of using his magic for anything that he perceived as selfish.

"But you like her more!" She yelled, clearly angered.

Negi facepalmed. "... Haven't I explained already, Master?" he asked, placing a hand on top of her head. "You worry too much." The fact that Lightning didn't strike him on sheer hypocrisy there was a good omen. Maybe.

"Well, I can actually understand her..." Siesta admitted, fidgeting. "I get jealous whenever I see you with her, too..."

"... I actually know how to solve this issue, but I don't think it's a good idea right now." Negi admitted. "And I think I would get arrested for it, either way."

Siesta caught on pretty quickly to what he was thinking. "... Threesome?" She suggested, somewhat hesitantly.

Louise looked thoughtful for a full minute, in which there was only silence. Then she rubbed her chin. "I am okay with this." She at last spoke, perking up. Then _both_ of them caught on to what they were actually saying, turning them both tomato red.

Negi was beginning to think he'd make a statue of a blond god of interruptions. "Ah, Lord Negi, you are indeed a man amongst men!" Guiche yelled, kneeling in front of him. His cloak made him look like a cultist praying to his pagan god. "Please, teach me, oh lord of men everywhere!"

"I'll say. Partner, I don't think that will ever get old. Though this is one of the less impressive stories you've got." Derflinger commented.

It almost made him laugh to hear Guiche's devotion. "Maybe later, Guiche, maybe later. I was going to the library, but that plan was shot." He admitted. "I don't think I will be able to concentrate today." he added, gesturing towards the two blushing women who just now noticed they weren't precisely alone.

Guiche nodded appreciatively, smiling like an idiot at the prospect of being taught by the person who was, in his eyes, the most awesome mage ever. "Maybe you can begin today's lesson early?"

Siesta nodded eagerly, while Louise looked away, hurt. "Can I join?" She asked, after a second of deliberation.

"... Actually, I was hoping to find a cure for this. Do you think Montmorency knows one, Guiche?" It was just convenient. If she did, then he'd be able to skip having to look for it entirely and be done early.

"I think so, yes, although... Why do you want a cure?" Asked Guiche, quite curious. Sounds of assent from Derflinger and Siesta accompanied his question. "Louise seems much more pleasant like this." The fact that he'd actually neglected her title meant he was actually serious for a change.

"Well, let me put it this way. It will wear off at some point. And when it does, Master will be angry, and with good reason." He explained, adjusting his long coat so it was a little more open. The day was uncomfortably warm, and Louise wasn't helping matters.

"... Good point." Siesta, Derflinger and Guiche chorused.

* * *

It didn't take long for Guiche to lead them to Montmorency, who had apparently been expecting him in an alchemist's lab. Whether it was hers or not is unimportant to the narrative. Siesta had excused herself, mostly because she actually had duties to attend to, but promised to clear off anything and be fully available at any minute if Negi did decide to go through with what had been proposed.

Guiche had walked in first, almost instantly showering his blonde object of desire with praise. Negi walked in right behind, chastising him on overdoing it.

Of course, she did react damn near instantly to his presence. "What does he want?"

Louise glared at her, while still clinging to Negi's arm. "Well, hello, first of all." Negi began, smiling as pleasantly as possible. "I want to know if you know a cure for the love potion." He said, his voice smooth and cheerful.

"You will have to wait until the effect wears out." She replied offhandedly.

Negi continued smiling. "Are you sure there is no other method?" He asked. "Isn't there any kind of antidote?"

"There exists an antidote, but without a secret ingredient, I cannot make it here." She explained, looking thoughtful. At the very least it was a lead.

"Can we just buy it?" Asked Negi, taking a seat opposite to Montmorency's, while Louise sat on his lap, nuzzling against him contentedly.

"It is not easy to obtain a Spirit's Tear, and they command outrageous prices."

"That is a problem." Negi said, seeming to fall in thought for a minute. "How do we obtain one?"

"My family has a generations old pact with the Water Spirit of Lagdorian Lake, that is how we commune with it. In theory, I could ask the spirit for a Tear."

Negi nodded. "Can we go tomorrow, then? I... Have some things to take care of today, but I can cancel any and all appointments for tomorrow." He said, his expression and tone fully serious now.

"B-But even if we go there, I don't know if we can obtain it." Montmorency explained.

"Regardless of that, the very least we can do is try... I don't want to find out how angry master will be if she makes a fool of herself in public."

Montmorency had been ready to object to the trip in and of itself, if only because making it would be a pain in the ass, but then she remembered who exactly they were talking about. Sure, Louise might be utterly incapable of casting normal magic, but her explosions hurt. A lot. And besides, she hadn't been there since she was a little girl. At the very least, it'd be entertaining.

She was left alone as Negi and Guiche retreated with Louise in tow. Siesta just _happened_ to come across them, she hadn't been spying or anything, no sir.

"So, Guiche, let's go over the basics again..."

* * *

That night, however, proved to be quite a bit more annoying than expected, making Negi wish he'd made them leave right then and there. It was because he couldn't quite cancel an appointment in such a hurry.

Blame it on being a politician for too long.

Louise was getting a bit harder to control, as she threw her clothes away in a flurry. "Come sleep with me!" She said, with disturbing cheer. She truly looked like a twelve year old girl at that point and it was starting to creep Negi out. Who would have known that memories of Evangeline would be his happy place?

It at the very least helped to stop seeing her as a little girl, which made the situation less awkward.

Somewhat.

* * *

Getting Louise to ride on her own had been a chore, but he was still not going to ride a horse until he asked Ayaka how to do it without destroying his crotch. There are things no immortal should have to put up with. Louise rode the same horse Negi did, but she was riding. She'd originally wanted to ride on his lap, but he didn't actually know how to 'drive', for lack of a better term.

Guiche had accompanied them, though nobody had asked him to. "The frontier with Gallia? It will take half a day to get there."

"I didn't ask you to come." Montmorency snapped his way.

"What would your knight do if not accompany you?" He spoke, laughing like a moron.

"He's just being nice, I guess." Negi admitted. "Thank you, Guiche." he added, further fueling the fire of his ego.

They rode on, with Montmorency, trying her best to ignore the escalating stupidity of Negi and Guiche's conversation. It had gone from Guiche being a magnanimous gentleman to Negi's history of kickassery. And about the invasion of a country named Molossia, for some reason.

That is, until they got to within eyesight of Lake Lagdorian. "Ah! We can finally see our objective! Onward!" He yelled, still amused.

"He's such a simpleton. Where does he pull that 'knight' crap from?" Montmorency asked.

"Well, he did come mostly because of you. At the very least, he is thinking about you." Negi spoke, smiling at her, while Louise glared at her. It was starting to get boring to do so, so she went back to focus on Negi. He was thankful his long coat wasn't conductive to nuzzling, being made of coarse and resistant material. "Are you certain that the spirit lives here?"

Montmorency nodded. "I can feel its anger." She commented, looking completely serious. "The water level is abnormally high."

"... I couldn't tell from the fact there are houses underwater." Negi's sword pointed out, much to Montmorency's annoyance.

"It wasn't like this when I was little. Anyway, we need to wait until sunset. The spirit won't appear before dusk."

Negi nodded. Then he turned to look at where Guiche's horse had launched him. "Ah! HELP MEEEE!" screamed the blond fop.

For the record, Montmorency greatly enjoyed pulling him out in the most violent way possible... Twice. Who knew he was enough of an idiot to fall twice?

Louise smiled. "Negi, we have a lot of free time. Can we..."

"No."

"What about..."

"Neither."

"And..?"

"No. We're not doing that."

Louise pouted at him.

Negi sighed. _"Nebula Hipnotica!"_

_A while later..._

"Listen, Robin, I want to meet up with an old friend." Montmorency pressed a needle against her right pointer finger, until she drew blood. She let a drop fall on top of her frog familiar's head. "Please, give my message to the sacred spirit. Tell it that one who has a contract with her wishes to speak to her."

Negi stood up straight, Louise still in his arms.

"I have to say, that spell of yours is awfully convenient..." Guiche commented.

Negi smiled and turned to Montmorency. "Are you certain your summon will work?" He asked, because missing the chance was not an option. Not with Louise getting more and more willing to ignore his objections every second.

"Long ago, I came here with my father and made a contract with the spirit that lives here. If it remembers that, it will come."

Negi nodded and continued to wait near the shore. "Then we will obtain a tear... How?"

"It's a piece of its body. I will ask for it." Montmorency said, walking until she was only inches away from the shore. "There it is!"

As soon as she'd said it, a column of water rose up to thirty feet tall. An impressive sight, all right.

"Ah, how nostalgic." Derflinger commented. Negi half turned to look at it over his shoulder, curious, but the sword didn't elaborate.

"I am Montmorency Margarita La Fère de Montmorency. I am a Water Mage and I am also the descendant of a noble who made a contract! If you recognize my blood, answer in a manner in which we can understand!"

The column of water took only a second to focus into a human, female form... which was still thirty feet tall. It was also oddly reminiscent of Montmorency herself. "I recall. I recognize the blood that runs through your veins. You are nobody." The spirit replied, its voice the most utterly bored tone a being with no lungs could project.

Negi raised one eyebrow. He'd expected a physical form, not an elemental form. In either case, it didn't matter much. "I am glad, sacred Spirit of Water, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Speak." The giant woman commanded.

"I wish for a piece of your body." Montmorency yelled out, somehow managing to sound submissive despite yelling.

"We refuse, Nobody." The spirit replied.

Montmorency wasn't surprised. The spirit was, as they said, kind of a jerkass.

"Please, Sacred Spirit of Water!" Negi interrupted before it could retreat. "Listen to me!"

"Stop! You'll anger it!" And seeing that pretty face ruined would be something no woman wanted to see.

The spirit turned to him, and somehow managed to project shock despite not actually having a face with the muscles to do so.

"What is it that you seek, Apostle Of Darkness?"

* * *

**Omake: Womanizers Meet**

The ritual was over. Negi sighed, then let himself fall to the ground, the exhaustion forcing him down. It was clear to Louise that whatever had happened, the ritual hadn't gone as intended, as it'd been even more violent than her own summoning of Negi was.

"... What a rough summon..."

A complicated language that Louise had no way of understanding, and when she turned to Negi, his eyes widened and he seemed to be feeling nostalgic. Then, he smiled. "You speak Japanese?" If she had to guess, it might have been the same language.

"Indeed. Servant Archer, at your service. I ask of you, are you my master?"

Negi smiled, a bit embarrassed.

* * *

Negi grovelled in front of Archer's feet, as the servant grinned proudly.

"Archer-sama, that was the best cup of tea I've ever had! Truly you are a Heroic Spirit!"

* * *

Negi is actually fully immortal here. Unlike in canon, where he was killed with absolutely no explanation whatsoever, here there is only one very specific way to kill him permanently that is not even a guaranteed success.

Also, visit the Ala Iridia Forum at http:/z13 (dot) invisionfree (dot) com /Ala_Iridia/


	11. I'm Getting Married? Nah

As always, thank y'all for the reviews. The way I interpreted what Albireo said was simple. His immortality is not complete in the sense that it allows growth instead of stagnating it like Evangeline, who was locked on an eternally ten year old body.

Also, visit the Ala Iridia Forum at http:/z13 (dot) invisionfree (dot) com /Ala_Iridia/

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 11: I Am A Monster

Negi narrowed his eyes. He had expected the spirit to be aware of his nature as non human, but it was still somewhat surprising. Evangeline wouldn't be happy that he was borrowing one of her titles instead of using his own, but his title would've been blasphemous to highly religious people, and considering how he wasn't actually willing to try and see how fanatic they were, he'd stick with that for now. Still, curiosity gnawed at him.

"Why do you call me that?" Negi asked, his curiosity very well masked.

"What should we call you? Mayhaps Disciple Of The Dark Evangel might be a better term?"

The water of the column calmed as he gasped, in mild shock. Negi shoved that to the back of his head. There were other priorities at the moment. His master was his current top priority.

Everyone else in attendance, meaning Guiche and Montmorency, gasped in shock at how the spirit had designated him. "I wish for a piece of your body, spirit." Negi spoke, not raising his voice, knowing that it was utterly unnecessary. The thing _was_ the lake itself, and would be capable of hearing him as long as the lake was within earshot.

Probably.

"We may trade favors, Apostle Of Darkness." The spirit spoke, as the water became still again, in the form of a giant naked Montmorency.

"Very well."

"We are busy raising the water level, therefore, we are incapable of defending against our attackers."

"Who would be stupid enough to attack the spirit?" Guiche asked, ignoring the thirty feet tall giant naked version of Montmorency in favor of the actual Montmorency.

"How would I know?" Montmorency snapped back.

Negi nodded. "I accept this task. Can I trust the word that you will give me a piece of your body as a reward?"

"We accept those conditions."

"No way! I don't want to fight!" the blonde yelled, trying to emphasize by swinging her fists like a moron.

"I never said you would have to." Negi stated, before settling to rest against a tree. "I will wait here for their attackers to come. You are free to go back to the academy if you desire. If you do, do take Master with you."

Surprisingly enough, Montmorency found herself wondering whether to go or not. "Of course not! We'll stay here!" Guiche said, affirming himself as an idiot in her eyes.

"Aw, fine." Montmorency gave up, and then pulled a little water off the lake to play with. Guiche, meanwhile, got himself a few lessons in badassery from Negi. The redhead himself was still taking care of Louise, having settled her against a tree.

"They are no doubt very powerful if they can confront the sacred spirit that inhabits the bottom of the lake." Montmorency pointed out.

"Didn't know you had spells for water breathing." Negi replied, standing up and resting against the same tree Louise was resting against.

"They are most decidedly wind mages." The blonds agreed, although only Guiche spoke. "They could be using air bubbles to walk to the bottom of the lake."

Montmorency nodded.

"They must be very powerful indeed." Guiche finished.

Negi's eyes narrowed. Guiche followed his eyes.

Two figures were standing there. One was significantly shorter than the other, who was wielding a staff or similar weapon and waving it around. Possibly chanting a spell. They were most decidedly the attackers. Negi pulled Derflinger out, then removed the sheath from his back.

"Guiche, Montmorency, protect Louise for me." He said.

Then he was gone, prompting the two blonds to blink.

The smaller figure noticed his approach, even though he'd moved faster than people could see. Negi placed a Derflinger's sheath between himself and the two figures, and no sooner had he done so, the staff swung his way and a rather noticeable gust of wind struck an invisible wall. When he tried to slam the pommel of the sword against the smaller figure's solar plexus, the larger figure shoved a wand to his face and a burst of fire followed.

His reflexes allowed him to duck under it, but his attack was stopped. It gave them both enough time to jump away. He growled under his breath, then continued to chase the smaller figure. He blocked an incoming set of icicles by slicing them with Derflinger, and then he complemented the slash by spinning around and swinging Derflinger's sheath.

The figure ducked. Excellent reflexes, if nothing else, but nowhere near enough to face him.

He blocked an incoming blast of fire by using the sheath again, and then tried to slap the figure in the face with Derflinger's flat side. However, he froze as the sword was at an inch's distance from the figure's head.

The redhead ran over his actions. He was about to strike a very dangerous blow to a stranger before even talking things through. He didn't even try to go for diplomacy. The figure recoiled, but he ignored it. "What am I doing..?"

However, another fire blast broke him from his musings, as he displayed incomparable physical prowess by dodging the insane amount of icicles that followed it, tracing a path behind him. They reunited again, possibly to cover each other. He was but a blur in the darkness of the night and they wouldn't see him coming. They were good enough, however, to _hear_ him coming when he ran.

Blocking their spells was child's play to him. His normal barriers were enough to do so. Still, not willing to test his luck, he jumped out of the way of several spells. However, he was forced to Shundou as they began getting creative and drawing him into a trap.

The Instant Movement leap had left him at a few steps from Derflinger's range, and thus he found himself taking those two steps as an unidentifiable blur. When he got close enough, he found himself swinging Derflinger for a lethal blow that would've sliced the both of them in half. Neither had enough time to prepare a counter.

He jumped to add some distance between them before completing it, ignoring the strain that it put on his body. Twin blasts, of wind and fire, almost hit him, but he sliced both attacks away with Derflinger. "Please, stop this." He spoke, sheathing Derflinger.

Both figures seized the chance to catch their breath, and he took it as a sign of peace.

"Wait. I know that voice!" And Negi knew that voice, too. "Darling?" Asked Kirche, pulling her hood back and letting her plentiful hair drop from its cover. Not an uncommon tactic to bind your hair, lest it become a nuisance in battle.

"... Kirche?" Negi asked, feeling utterly and completely horrible. He'd almost killed the both of them. He was disgusted with himself, but the smile he wore would've never told you that. No one needed to know he was a monster.

Tabitha pulled her own hood back, looking the same as ever, while staring up at him. She was winded, the both of them were, and the knowledge that he'd almost broken Tabitha's cranium earlier was enough to sicken him even further.

Guiche and Montmorency chose that moment to make their presence apparent.

* * *

"So, it was that, huh..."

Montmorency and Guiche had explained the situation while Negi was busy trying not to stir Louise awake. The effect of his spell was over, and she was beginning to wake up. That happens with unnatural sleep.

"But, why did you make something as dangerous as a love potion?" Of course, Kirche had never needed such a thing. She could charm the pants off nearly any man in ten minutes or less! Her recent failure to do so to Negi notwithstanding.

"Just wanted to try making one, that's all." Nobody missed how Guiche wisely decided to store his comment, because he'd actually gone through the motions of pointing it out until Montmorency kicked him in the shin. From behind. Somehow.

"This is bad... If we don't defeat the spirit, Tabitha will be in trouble..."

Negi turned to them. "Why would that be?"

"It's a mission Tabitha's family gave us." The bluenette turned to Kirche almost questioningly. It was almost as if she were chastising her for revealing that so easily. "It's because the water level is rising, and those living around here are being affected."

"Then you too had a reason to come here..." Guiche had indeed assumed it was a coincidence... because he's kind of an idiot that way.

"Hn... The water spirit is angry for some reason. If we can fix it, then there won't be a need to attack it." And he was clinging to the opportunity that it could be resolved without violence as much as possible. He had absolutely no doubt who he'd side with, and it scared him to realize that he was indeed looking forward to confronting the spirit in battle.

Montmorency nodded. During the middle of the ritual, Louise woke up, though she hadn't done much more than nuzzle against Negi's chest affectionately.

The water once again rose in a column, before forming into, what else, a giant naked transparent Montmorency. It was still sorta creepy for her.

Of course, Negi stepped forward to speak with it again. "Why are you overflowing the lake, Spirit?"

The being was as expressionless as ever. Its focus instantly went to the speaker, of course, as everyone else in the crowd was utterly meaningless to it. "The humans took our treasure, which we protected. I exist only in the water, therefore, if We flood the world, I will be able to look for Our treasure."

It's use of pronouns was confusing. Apparently, there was an actual, separate entity that was the spirit itself, but it saw itself as part of the lake. It was unusual, to say the least.

Negi narrowed his eyes. The thing would exist as long as the lake did. Under its protection, it was unlikely that the lake would ever cease to exist, much less so considering she was actively concentrating in increasing the lake's size. There were two choices. He hoped the first would work.

"What is the name of your treasure, Spirit?" Negi asked.

"It is called the Ring of Andvari." The thing spoke, voice still as flat as ever. "The ring that has been with me since time immemorial."

"I've heard about it. It gives the power to bestow fake souls." Montmorency commented, falling towards seriousness and ignoring the creeping fear that simply standing in front of the thirty feet tall water spirit produced.

"Do you know who it was that stole it?" Kirche asked, taking the next question that Negi was going to ask.

"All I know is of someone named Cromwell."

"Very well. Will you lower the water level if I promise to search for and find the Ring Of Andvari?" Asked Negi, taking one step forward, ignoring the gasps of surprise his companions gave. Louise didn't know why they even doubted him, but her comment went ignored even by the author.

"I accept these conditions, Apostle of Darkness."

Kirche turned to look, with a face of wonder, at Negi. What was with the whole 'Apostle Of Darkness' business? What the hell was the spirit talking about? Ah, the secrets and mysteries only helped to make him even more desirable.

Still, she couldn't do much right now. With Louise under the effects of a love potion and currently using him as a couch, it was clear that the chances of taking him right then and there were slim at best.

The spirit flung a small bottle, somehow using water to carry it all the way to Kirche's hands.

"Your kind inspires no trust in us. However, Gandalfr has always kept their promises in the past. I can trust Gandalfr."

Negi nodded. "How do you plan on completing that?" Asked Montmorency, tilting her head.

"I have a lot of time to do so. Some day, I will find it and bring it here. It doesn't matter if it takes me centuries, does it?"

"C-Centuries?" Asked everyone but Tabitha, who had ignored the large form of the spirit to focus on Negi, who looked like he wanted to slap himself.

"Ignore that, okay? I'll explain later."

Kirche, Montmorency, Guiche and even Tabitha, maybe, were glaring at him. "As soon as we're done with this, okay?"

Tabitha quickly returned to her normal expression, from her almost entirely unnoticeable curiosity before. "Debt." She stated. Negi merely shook his head at her comment.

Turns out, the explanation was awkward as all hell indeed, in it's very abridged version given by Louise, granted it had also had several arguments as to why he was the best and most handsome familiar ever. Negi ignored it altogether, seeing as they retreated to gather the horses, with Louise happily herding them around, he turned back to the spirit.

"May I speak with you in private, Spirit? I have a rather considerable amount of questions that might find an answer within you."

The spirit looked in doubt for a few seconds. "Very well, Apostle Of Darkness, what is it you wish to ask about?"

"How do you know the Dark Evangel?"

_Back in the academy..._

Louise was frantic, livid, furious and utterly embarrassed at the same time. "I'll be ashamed for the rest of my life! I made a fool of myself in front of everyone!"

She paced frantically around the room, trying to rub the memories away from her head.

"Master, I..."

However, as soon as she heard him speak, she went to kneel as fast as fast can possibly be... when unaugmented, anyway.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I must have made you look like a fool in front of everyone, as well! Please, forgive me, Your High-" She was cut off by Negi laughing openly, then coughing to get her attention. She almost fell over for being stopped mid bow. He petted her head and actually forced her to look at him.

"Well, Partner, you've got one dense master, eh?" Derflinger commented. Louise would've normally retaliated with another insult, but that was the sword of royalty, and she didn't dare indirectly insult royalty.

"Master! I've told you that I'm not a prince anymore!" He said, smiling, though it seemed more strained than his usual smile. "I'd like to think I am your friend, Louise, would you throw that away because of this?" His smile turned into a pout.

Her objections died on her throat. She couldn't quite say no. Stupid familiar and his ability to look far more handsome than what any man was ever allowed to be!

"O-okay..." She said, not entirely sure of herself. The respect towards the crown was something as basic as breathing for her. It was kind of difficult not to drop to her knees again. She did, finally, manage to calm down somewhat.

Just in time for the wind to blow open their window, blowing out their candle in the process. There was a rustle as Derflinger found itself in Negi's hands, and the familiar was already standing in front of Louise by the time the pinkette noticed.

A figure levitated in, in a recognizable brown cloak that left the hem of her dress visible. Not to mention, her voice was kind of telling. "Are you having fun?" She asked, seemingly very curious about why Negi would be holding his sword against her.

"Princess Henrietta?"

Neither Louise nor Negi knew who had been the one to voice the question, but it did cause her to pull the cloak back, and smile pleasantly as always. "Hello, Louise Françoise, Mr. Familiar."

"Princess?" This time it was decidedly Louise, who rushed to the princess. "Why would you come alone at this hour?"

The princess took Louise's hands in her own. "I came to ask for an urgent and confidential favor."

Louise invited the princess to sit on her bed, while she went to kneel herself. However, she didn't do anything when Negi remained on his feet and only bowed. It sort of surprised Henrietta. Louise could be very strict with proper etiquette. After bowing, Negi went to place Derflinger, in it's sheath, back against the wall. The pinkette turned an inquisitive look to the sitting princess of Tristain.

"I have decided to contract matrimony with a member of the Germanian Royalty."

Louise snapped her head upwards, and looked for a sign of a joke on the princess' face. There wasn't anything. "Is that true?" she asked. "Why with that kingdom of barbarians?"

"In order to protect our little kingdom of Tristain, we must build a solid alliance with Germania." she looked aside, clearly trying to not show how much she disliked the idea.

"There are other ways to obtain power other than a political marriage. There is always an indirect way, princess." Negi commented. "Neither my master nor myself wish to see you in pain, and it is obvious that this choice is uncomfortable for you."

"What would you suggest?" The princess asked, only allowing the barest hints of hope show in her voice.

"Sadly, I cannot offer much at the time." Negi said, frowning. "I apologize, because most of what I could suggest would be seen as scandalous, I have to admit. I'm still not sure how I got away with it, myself."

Henrietta looked at him, in a face so incredibly curious that he was sure only Louise's completely identical expression could match it.

"... I have to explain, don't I?"

"To be fair, you walked right into that one, Partner." Derflinger commented. Negi grinned sheepishly.

"I seem to keep digging myself deeper." He replied, agreeing.

Henrietta shook her head. "It will have to be at some other time." They had, after all, far more important things to discuss. "Before I can go through with this, there is something I must do." She finally began explaining what she'd come for, turning to the window she'd come in through.

"Princess, if there is anything I can do, please tell me!" Louise spoke, again, rushing to the princess' side. She didn't notice that she got progressively pinker every inch closer she was. She actually dared to stop her from moving away.

"Thank you, Louise Françoise..." They looked into each other's eyes for several seconds, though Henrietta quickly returned to duty mode. The fact that she could still look fairly professional with a blush on her face was actually impressive. "I would like if you could recover something for me."

Negi almost immediately turned from his pleased smile to a serious expression. He'd been ready to make the jump since he was actually expecting Derflinger to ruin it. Some times, it and Chamo were so much alike it was scary. "What exactly?"

"It is a letter I sent prince Wales, from the kingdom of Albion."

"Albion?" Negi asked, turning to Louise, keeping his voice low. He was actually more surprised by the name... It was kind of funny...

"Explain later." She said, voice just as low.

"If this letter becomes public, our union won't be possible."

"Oh, a love letter, I understand." Negi said, earning a glare from Louise, as she prepared to go on a tirade about how he shouldn't assume such a thing from someone as pure and innocent as the princess. Then she turned to the princess.

"... Is it?" She sounded like a cross between disappointed, offended and hopeful, all at the same time.

"Exactly." She admitted, blushing in what had to be embarrassment. "Albion currently has political problems, and it is a dangerous situation for us all."

"I have heard that the nobles are rebelling against the crown and are about to overthrow it..." Louise commented. Oh, that actually made sense. Albion was in the middle of a revolution through a coup. Odd, but not entirely unexpected. Those kinds of things happened with oppresive regimes.

"Forgive me for asking you, my best friend, to do something like this... I'm just a..." she was breaking down the royal mask. Negi noticed that the princess was actually rather soft on Louise...

Louise shook her head. "No, princess! I am honored by this!"

"Right now, you are the only one I can trust..."

"To know that you trust me is enough reward for a lifetime, Princess..."

"Thank you, Louise Françoise."

Their faces drew closer, inch by inch, until their eyes were the only thing each other could see.

Negi turned to glare at Derflinger, mostly because the sword had unsheathed itself to speak. His glare had a clear command. Not right now. In doing so, however, he noticed the door was open.

"... This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen..." Guiche said, as the door swung fully open to reveal both him and Montmorency standing behind it. The later quickly turned to glare at him briefly, before adopting a sort of sheepish expression.

"... Come in, already." Negi said, smiling a smile entirely void of cheer. "How much did you two hear?" Negi's voice was cold, and it was clear his smile didn't reach his eyes. Interrupted, AGAIN! So damn close!

"I... I heard everything the princess said." The blond fop didn't know why his blood was currently running cold. Merely being in the same room as that pink monstrosity that was threatening to explode him into tiny bits would do that to anyone. The fact that the safest person on the room quite clearly hadn't welcomed his interruption either wasn't a good sign for him.

He'd made sure to keep Negi between the pink monster and himself at all times. The lesser of two evils.

"We weren't trying to eavesdrop... We just wanted to see if the antidote had worked..." Montmorency quickly justified, kneeling in front of the still surprised Henrietta.

"Regardless of that fact, please, allow me, Guiche de Gramont, to assist!" The suddenly passionate fop spoke. "I cannot bear to let such a heavy burden lay solely on your shoulders, Your Highness!"

Louise softened almost immediately. Anyone who was trying to help the princess in any way, shape or form was her friend, after all. But she didn't soften enough to forget that he had indeed been eavesdropping, even if unintentionally. Montmorency looked at him with a face that spoke of clear indignation.

"Allow me, Montmorency De Montmorency, to assist, as well!" like hell would she leave the moron alone. Mostly because she was actually wondering if he wasn't using it as an excuse to go meet new girls since the academy was empty. He'd been on such good behavior that it was actually a real possibility.

Negi himself blinked, then smiled, for reals this time, and turned to the princess.

"Ah... May you happen to be General Gramont's son?"

"The one and the same!"

Montmorency glared at him from the corner of her eyes. He'd always flaunt that fact like it mattered. His father was his father and Guiche was Guiche. She was certain she'd never date General Gramont. Not unless he removed that stick that was up his ass. Or so she put in fancier words.

"Will you two lend me your strength, as well?"

"I may not have as much power to offer as Negi, Your Highness, but I will offer it for your cause gladly!"

"Myself, as well." Montmorency continued. He hadn't even looked at the princess. It was really odd, because not many men could avoid fawning over her. She was that pretty. Even Montmorency found herself agreeing some times.

"Very well, then." The princess finished.

Negi smiled and looked at the three of them before simply wandering off with no more words.

He had a very specific place to go to. Guiche suddenly slapped his forehead. "Ah, I forgot! I have something to do right now! Please, excuse me!" He rushed off after Negi, catching up when he was descending the stairs. He only vaguely registered it being a terrible idea...

* * *

It was a mystery how Siesta always managed to find him whenever he was outside. But it was not unwelcome, in any case. "Hello, Negi." Siesta spoke, bowing slightly to him, a wide smile on her face. "Hello, Lord Guiche." She added, when she noticed the blond next to Negi. It took a few seconds. He was kind of a far distant note.

"Hello, Siesta!" Negi replied, grinning in a manner that Guiche admitted he rarely saw him do. It was kind of odd.

"Is Miss Louise back to normal, yet?"

Negi nodded. "Though I admit that the whole affair has only left me with more questions than answers." He admitted, still grinning and rubbing the back of his neck, where a growing itch had found place. Stupid mosquitoes.

Guiche cleared his throat, and caused Negi to turn to face him, a slightly sheepish grin in his face.

"Ah, is Lord Guiche's training session about to begin?"

Guiche nodded, and then Negi nodded.

"Today? Well... you've got the manners of a gentleman down, Guiche... Now comes the harder part. Mr. Rakan used to call this 'Badass Training'."

Siesta rubbed her chin. "Can I watch?" She asked.

Negi turned to Guiche. "Your call."

The blond weighed his options. "How could I say no to such a beautiful lady?"

Siesta smiled, forcing back the need to giggle. He was, indeed, getting better, but after getting used to Negi demonstrating how to be a charming gentleman, he was not even close to a match. It was a cute try, if nothing else.

"Partner here is going to beat the crap out of you. I am not sure when he is going to stop. Good luck." Derflinger spoke, it's voice very clearly amused.

* * *

Montmorency heard Guiche groan, and saw him wince as she poked the side of his ribs. He could barely walk, he could barely move at all, and it was a mystery how he was not dead. "So, let me get this straight. He beat the crap out of you. Then he healed you. Then he beat the crap out of you some more." Montmorency summed up.

"Then he healed me again. And repeated the process a few times." There was still the distinct presence of a smile on his face, pained as it was.

"And you're happy about this?" She asked, because it was a concept alien to her. Montmorency was doing her best to avoid further inflicting pain, while going over the basic healing spells she knew to heal what she could.

"Montmorency, I am a pathetic combatant. I have come to admit this fact after he punched it into my head." The son of the general spoke, as he sat on the soft grass. "But you know? Maybe I still have my pride as a man. My pride as a mage." The young man stated.

"What does that have to do with anything?" She asked, sitting beside him.

"He destroyed it within two seconds, and we're working on rebuilding it. Because I want to protect you, Montmorency, I wish to be your knight, is why I will take any punishment and suffer any torture, and if this brutal training can help me do so..."

Montmorency frowned in thought. "W-Well, don't think that you're a badass or anything now." She said, huffing and turning to glare at a random point in the distance.

Guiche felt the need to chuckle. He'd seen her blush before she'd managed to turn.

"Besides, if he can train you, I'm sure he can train me, as well..."

Guiche paled. "That might not be such a good idea..." He said, quickly dropping the whole badass knight persona. "I think that I survived it by fluke, honestly."

Montmorency found herself laughing at the mood whiplash. "Come on, how bad could it possibly be?" Both blonds looked at each other for a few seconds.

To say that she'd overreacted would be unfair, because anyone was prone to a reaction like that.

* * *

Negi found Siesta this time, and asked her a question. She'd answered in exchange for a kiss. Standard fare. She seemed to be getting more comfortable having that kind of relationship with him, which is always a plus.

The question? Fairly simple. Which teacher would be knowledgeable about Halkeginia's history?

The answer was someone Negi was fairly comfortable talking with, who he found at a small shack on the side of one of the larger courtyards. Jean Colbert. A rather interesting man, all things told, if a bit on the eccentric side.

"So, that is how it is, huh?" Negi said, rubbing his chin. He'd learned more in ten minutes of Colbert's lecture than he'd ever had visiting Louise's classes and reading books on the library. The man truly was an example of a teacher.

"Is how you perform your magic different?"

"Yes. Although elemental affinities do exist, mine leaning towards Lightning and Wind, any mage can learn any spell, provided they have the dedication to. Although my master seems incapable of using the elements, I have noticed that she can actually properly recreate the spell she is trying to use. Of course, it appears that her element is causing things to explode. In any case, I did not come her to talk about this..."

"Oh, what is it, then?"

Colbert found himself taking great joy in explaining the legend. Negi kept the fact that Louise might be a Void mage to himself. If Colbert was as smart as Negi got the impression he was, no doubt the man had taken the possibility into his mind and gone to lengths to verify it.

The pungent smell was getting suffocating. Negi's face seemed to portray that, and Colbert laughed. "That smell is dragon blood."

Odd. Negi was certain that dragons, despite the fire-breathing kind having an unsafe amount of sulfur in their bodies, had blood as normal as any reptile's. Certainly not piss-yellow blood that smelled like oil.

"A very long time ago, two never before seen dragons appeared from the sky, and with mighty roars, fought each other to death. One of them was obliterated, the other was stricken down and now lays somewhere in Halkeginia. I had to go to great lengths to obtain this vial of the blood that was spilled then. I am trying to replicate it."

Negi nodded, rubbing his chin. That was oil, no doubt. Well, he was _fairly_ certain it was oil "I think I have seen something like it before..."

He did, however, have little more time to squander, for it was time for Guiche's next tortu- training session. Now he knew how Evangeline felt when she trained him, and remembering Ku Fei's own lessons was a plus. Especially since he'd never quite managed to defeat her in a purely skill based fight.

Hah. She'd get a surprise next time she saw him, as he resolved to pick up on his training while teaching Guiche.

* * *

Colbert entertained Negi for far too long. Particularly questioning him in the similarities between the chemical substance known as Oil and the Dragon's Blood that he was trying to analyze and recreate.

Guiche was there early. Though he was accompanied. Negi himself wondered where Siesta was. She often made a little time to squeeze watching or taking an active part in his lessons. Bummer, he could really use a hostage situation right now to train Guiche into being a Knight In Shining Armor in the most violent way possible.

"Hello, Guiche, Montmorency." Negi spoke, hearing the returned greeting. "I did not expect to see you here, Montmorency."

The long haired blonde snorted. "If he can do it, then I can do it too."

Negi smiled at her. "I am glad to see that you want training, too." He said, sounding genuinely pleased. "In any case, I guess I should explain something. Do you two know what the differences are between Mage Knights and pure Mages?"

Guiche nodded. Montmorency nodded, a bit later.

"Well, I am a Mage Knight by preference, but I am qualified to teach and fulfill either role as needed. So, I want to ask you, which role would you prefer to fulfill?"

Guiche almost immediately snapped his head. "Mage Knight."

"Called it." Derflinger commented. "Partner can teach you how to wield a sword later."

"Really?" Guiche asked, his face brightening. The prospect of being a dashing knight wielding a glorious sword of promised victory was apparently appealing to him. Not to be blamed, as it _was_ a nice prospect.

Negi smiled. "I expected as such. I imagine that you wish for Montmorency to be your Magister..." He grinned to himself. "It's time to make a Pactio, then!"

It was a natural progression. Whenever you wanted to protect someone, you made a Pactio. They, however, were left with faces full of wonder, because they didn't know what that weird word meant. A lengthy explanation, including the ritual needed for it to work, was given. Including the difference between a permanent contract and a probationary contract.

He left out the way to actually seal a permanent contract. Best left unmentioned, that. It may offend their sensibilities.

"Well... I guess it's okay..." Montmorency conceded.

"Okay then, step into the circle there!" Negi chirped, in a way much too reminiscent of Chamo.

"When did you draw that?" Montmorency asked, jumping slightly.

Negi completely ignored that question, and urged them to consummate the pact.

Sadly, the resulting card was a simple probationary Pactio card incapable of producing an artifact. Negi easily duplicated it and gave the copy to Guiche. He set on about explaining the commands (explaining the Latin commands was a bit more difficult than expected.), and actually giving Guiche a trial run on what being buffed is like.

Montmorency was, oddly enough, most enjoying the ability to summon Guiche to her side whenever she wanted, although exactly why, Negi wasn't sure. The fact that she'd realized the defensive power this carried was actually encouraging.

Guiche moved with surprising speed, and his attacks carried far more force than before. Negi had urged him to create a set of blunted weapons for them to practice with. Guiche had absolutely zero skill in swordplay. Well, he knew how to hold a blade and how to make a few basic attacks, but didn't know how to guard himself and couldn't really put any of his buffed, extraordinary force behind his blows, but it was a start.

He was getting Montmorency acquainted with being a backup, artillery-type mage. All she had to do was make Guiche's job of protecting her easier by taking potshots at him and generally remaining behind his protection. Granted, the constant drain on her energy placed by having to reactivate the contract every ninety seconds was starting to show by their fifteenth minute, so they had to take a rest every now and then, in which Negi used Reflexio to get them back in fighting condition faster.

They worked well as a unit. Well, for beginners, anyway. They got on each other's ways more often than not, but often actually managed to cover each other. Guiche's clumsiness with the sword was what sealed his loss, despite Negi restricting himself to what buffs Melodia Bellax could provide.

The fight was simple. Engage Guiche in melee. Parry front, parry side, lunge and push Guiche away to target Montmorency, who was defenseless as she charged her spells. The entire day of training consisted of getting them used to Guiche protecting Montmorency with everything he had.

Montmorency displayed the ability to be creative, since once Negi slipped past Guiche, she just interrupted her spell and summoned him back to her side to block him for a bit longer. Negi commended her on this. That was by the third bout.

The fifth showed that Guiche was willing to go to great lengths to prevent Negi's sword from touching Montmorency (which would end the battle in Negi's favor immediately), by taking a _nasty_ hit to the crotch.

The redheaded familiar felt very bad for that one.

Negi left the courtyard satisfied when evening was beginning to set. Montmorency and Guiche had to carry each other and ended up sleeping in the same bedroom, because Montmorency's was closer to the courtyard.

* * *

VIOLENCE! PORNO! TVTROPES BURNS!

In any case, same as always, folks. No omake this chapter.


	12. Signing His Own Death Sentence

Visit, as I always say, http:/z13 (dot) invisionfree (dot) com /Ala_Iridia/

This is, far and wide, the longest chapter I've written for this fic. Thank you all for your reviews.

Great Vampire-Shinso: Hombre, si se te complica el ingles, no lo uses. No aprendi el español para no usarlo, ¬¬

Xanaris: Negi does use his Kempo. His going for Derflinger to kill the problem is what is the problem, instead of using nonlethal physical attack. And yeah, I am trying to be original, even if I Am Not Creative Enough to do so. And you won't understand that pun unless you know that I am the troper known as I Am Not Creative Enough in , :P

I broke 7000 words with this one.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 12: Un Candombe Que No Es Para Bailar

Negi realized how awesome it was that his Pactio outfit could be re summoned in a second when damaged, because his coat had taken quite a few shots and had been reduced to rags, even if he'd never been actually touched even once. If nothing else, he could praise their ability to work together, since they hadn't been fighting together since long.

Louise would've thrown a fit if she saw him walking in rags. She was kind of strict about etiquette. Possibly because he clashed against her views of royalty. _Hard_.

Still, she seemed fairly shaken when he did get to their room. It was a wonder how she could at times be so similar to Evangeline, appearing proud and unshakeable, and how at others she would be just a simple human being, who had her weaknesses and strengths.

It was very clear what actually had Louise in such a foul mood. He had declined to wake her up that morning, as she'd slept late, apparently having made a habit of using him as a comforting body pillow meant that she had trouble sleeping otherwise or just couldn't sleep with the news she'd been given the last evening. He couldn't really blame her.

Life is harsh. "Prince Wales from Albion and Her Highness are cousins." Not unheard of, for royalty, to try to keep the blood as pure as possible. Having a narrow gene pool was a constant problem that often resulted from this, however.

"Cousins and lovers." Louise flinched, but said nothing. "It might sound sad, but it is the sacrifices that people like us are willing to make. We bleed, we sweat, we suffer, we rise, and we fall so that others do not have to. We shoulder the burdens that nobody else can shoulder." he explained, placing a hand on one of her shoulders.

She seemed to find comfort in her touch, and actually scooted closer to him, resting her head against his chest. "But... It's unfair for her to have to do that..."

"No, Louise, it isn't." The redhead replied. "We suffer for others, just as others suffer for us. Do not believe for a second that we are the only ones who suffer, Louise. Look at yourself. You suffer because you know that the princess is suffering. The very people the princess is hoping to save will suffer because they know that this is not what she wished for her life."

Louise looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, knowing that what he was saying was true. Everyone suffered for the greater good. There wasn't much more to it.

"I may have sacrificed myself so that everyone I love could be okay, but every time I pushed myself to the limit, every time my back almost broke from the weight I put on it, everyone close to me suffered because of it, and in turn, that caused me pain. It was something I refused to acknowledge, some time ago." Negi spoke, his voice somewhat nostalgic.

"But... Then, what is the point of life, if we're just going to suffer?"

"Because not everything is suffering, Louise. Sure, there is a lot of pain in life, but believe me, the good parts outweigh the bad. People like me and the princess find our happiness in other people's happiness. We smile if you smile. And if to make you smile, I must withstand the pain of a thousand years, then so be it, because in the end, it's all worth it, just for those few seconds in which we can smile at each other, and we realize that everything is going to be okay."

She let her tears flow.

"But... if I weren't so useless, if I weren't such a failure of a mage, I could help her! I could bear the weight for her!" the pinkette spoke, burying herself into Negi's embrace.

Negi rubbed her back as she sobbed into his chest. "Louise, we all do what we have to. You aren't useless. If it is the only thing that you can do, then be there for her." He spoke, moving her so that she'd be more comfortable against him, as her arms wrapped around him, and she was still looking up at him in a rather good impression of a little girl crying to her big brother.

"B-but... I can't do anything right. I even accepted this mission despite being incapable of using magic. I can't even knit a sweater!" It was very clear that her self esteem had been shot to hell a few times too many. Negi tried his best to smile comfortingly at her. "And if I stand next to you, it's all the more glaring! You're perfect! You're a gentleman, you are a powerful mage and a skilled knight, you are a prince and I'm just the daughter of a duke. I don't know how I was even allowed to summon you..."

"Louise." Negi began, his voice stern. "Stop saying that. Think about it. The summoning is supposed to reflect the mage's potential, is it not?" He saved the comments about his own failures and how he wasn't as squeaky clean as he appeared to be. He would comfort her first. "You have worked harder than anyone else in this entire academy, Louise. You are much like I was a few years ago, I admit."

"B-But..." He silenced her by petting her head with his right hand, which had previously been on her back.

"You worked harder than anyone else in this academy, Louise, and even if it kills me, I will make sure that your hard work pays off. I have already told you about your tremendous magic potential... And I have a feeling that I know why your magic doesn't work. If it is what I think it is, well, my magic style might be able to subvert that problem entirely." He explained, seeing her sniff and continue to let out a consistent stream of tears.

She pulled back slightly so they could properly look at each other in the eyes without straining their necks. "Besides, even if you weren't a mage, that is not what matters, Louise, what matters is here." He said, poking her in the middle of the chest, just below where the left lung would be.

She blushed slightly at the touch, and turned another inquisitive look at him. "Even so, even with magic, I'd still be useless to the princess... I am a coward, even Guiche and Montmorency are receiving training to become better mages while I'm here, sitting in my room feeling impotent..."

"Don't look down, Louise. Don't lower your head. Because when we keep walking forward, with our heads held high, the world will smile on us."

* * *

Louise woke up before her familiar woke her, which was strange, given that it was far earlier than normal. Only the vague idea that today she had to move was present. The pinkette did not move from her spot. It was comfortable. It was warm. It was safe. It was also, with its rise and fall, reminding her that it was still Negi's chest.

The blush disappeared as soon as she finally raised her head. He was already awake, though he didn't seem particularly keen on moving her.

"Good morning, Master."

"Good morning, Negi."

She rose to dress in silence, while her familiar put on that rather heavy coat that he seemed so fond of. She knew he'd gotten it from the card that had resulted from their Pactio, and the memory of it served to give her face a healthy flush, but it was still surprising to see it so much. She had never seen the artifact, which was admittedly weird.

However, she had remained silent until they were already on the outside, waiting for Guiche and Montmorency, on their horses, after giving Negi a quick lesson on how not to get his crotch destroyed. It was earlier than expected, and she knew that by the fact that Guiche was always punctual, that they'd have to wait a while. Maybe he'd gone to wake up Montmorency..?

"Negi... What is your artifact like?" Louise asked, rather curious about it.

"Well... My artifact is called _Mille Vincula_, or in your language, _Thousand Bonds_. It represents that I would not be who I am without my Ministra." He said, rubbing his chin. Then he reached into the coat and pulled his copy of the Pactio card (which Louise noticed was still in her drawer. She should get used to carrying it around everywhere) "I guess I could show you. _Adeat_."

The card went from a flat surface to a small booklet in a flash. Louise had to blink and take a deep breath, however, as the one she'd been holding was suddenly exhaled. Negi hopped off the horse he'd been sitting in and walked next to hers to show her the booklet.

The visor in it showed that the first card in the 'deck' contained within it was Negi's own. He then opened it and took his own card out. He reached into another one of his pockets and pulled out another card, this one's illustration was of a redhead with a pair of improbably long pigtails, who covered the majority of her body with a rather enormous sword.

"This is one of my Pactio cards. My first Ministra, Kagurazaka Asuna, and someone to whom I owe my life several times over." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Louise didn't miss that his normally impenetrable façade had fallen through and it was pretty clear he was sad. Even his voice peaked in sadness when he mentioned her name. "Well, my artifact allows me to use their own artifacts as if they were mine."

He slammed Asuna's card against the booklet and snapped it shut in one fluid motion. He held the booklet as if it were a dangerous weapon, pointing it away from Louise and actually jumping back to gain some distance from the horses. _"Adeat!"_ he cried, again.

In front of Louise's eyes, the booklet reformed into a simply humongous sword. The thing was longer than Negi was tall, and just as wide as Louise was at the waist. The blade was exquisite, even to her untrained eyes, in its black glory. She ignored how she'd suddenly felt a bit winded for a second.

Derflinger seemed to share her opinion, if it's whistle was anything to go by. "Now that's what I call a weapon, partner. I think I haven't seen something like that since a couple thousand years. Mages today can't do an enchantment worth a damn." The sword commented.

"Glad you like the Hama No Tsurugi, Derflinger." Negi said, a wide smile on his face. "This is the blade that I learnt to fight with. Well, a duplicate of it, but all artifacts are actually duplicates from the originals anyway." He added. The runes in his left hand lighted up, and he registered that fact for later questioning. Maybe Colbert would know something. It was the first time he'd noticed that.

"I wouldn't be able to tell, Partner, that is sure masterwork." Derflinger approved. "Can you show me some moves?"

Louise nodded, in approval of Derflinger's request, and Negi grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's been a while since I last picked it up... Ah, I guess I can show why this sword is so special. Louise, could you hold this for a second?"

The pinkette looked at him with a face so deadpan it was actually kind of funny. "This is as large as you are, I don't think I can lift it."

Negi rubbed his chin. "That's a problem... Well, it doesn't matter." He stuck it to the ground. "Now, Louise, you've seen my spells, right?"

She nodded. "What does this have to do with showing us why this sword is special?"

"It can dispel anything. From High Ancient Magic to the most basic spells, it dispels them all the same. It is a blade designed to destroy magic. Look... _Fulguratio Albicans!_"

The lightning erupted from his hand, and struck the blade, but as soon as it did, it fizzled in the air. "It makes for a great magical shield for that reason."

Louise nodded. He slipped into that strange lecture mode of his, in which she could swear he was a trained teacher.

"I have twenty six cards, as is, although it has been a long while since I have seen most of them in use, and I only have a few of my Pactio cards on me right now. The reason I don't use the artifact much is that it draws power from you, Louise, when I summon it, though this is only further proof to you having a lot of power to draw from. My artifact is very costly to utilize."

Again, Louise nodded. He grinned, because he still had it in him to be a kickass teacher.

It didn't take long for her eyes to fall on a rather exquisite looking ring on her right hand, which sported a large jewel on it. That was the conversation that had prompted her breakdown last night.

"Henrietta visited me yesterday, while I was alone..." She said, turning to stare at Negi. He looked inquisitively at her, and she blushed fiercely, causing him to chuckle. "Even after I told her that I didn't need a reward, she still gave me this water ruby..."

A blue ruby. It was weird. "Hn... She felt guilty about sending you, Louise."

"In any case, she also told me that an escort would accompany us to Albion."

They were distracted when Guiche zipped by, running at a truly ludicrous speed, holding a gigantic mole in his hands as he did, followed by a water whip which cracked against the air, breaking several of the laws of physics as it did. Typical for the blonds, though to see them so active in the morning was a bit surprising.

Montmorency looked at them as she walked in, following the whip. "What?" She asked, defensively. "He tried to sniff my underwear."

Negi slapped his forehead. "Are you sure it wasn't an accident? These happen, you know..."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Montmorency, Light of my eyes!" He cried, as he hid behind the upright Hama No Tsurugi. When Montmorency's whip reached it, it lost all consistency and splashed itself uselessly on the sword's flat side. "I swear I slipped!"

"You tripped into my underwear drawer?" She asked, looking about as disbelieving as she could possibly be. Guiche raised his shoe, and in it's sole was a rather noticeable stain of a greenish liquid. Then her expression softened. "Oh... I guess I should clean my room more often..." She said, twiddling her fingers and blushing noticeably.

In the whole debacle regarding Guiche's slipping, Verdandi had been very effective at sneaking away, as Louise had been ready to stop Montmorency by force, while Negi walked in with his hands in the traditional position that read "Let's all calm the fuck down."

Neither of them saw the brown blur coming when it tackled Louise.

Guiche smirked, seeing Negi chuckling openly at the animal's affectionate attack. "Ah, Verdandi has a... taste for jewelry, particularly rare jewelry." He explained, dropping his smirk as he saw the dark energy gathering behind Louise, as any angry tsundere was prone to spontaneously develop the ability to create terrifying images behind themselves.

"Ah, it must be the ring, then..." Negi added, rubbing his chin.

"I won't let this thing touch the princess' ring, much less eat it! Help me!"

The moment the words were out of her mouth, a strong wind sounded and a stream of dust-filled wind rushed towards Verdandi and Louise. Negi's eyes narrowed and in an instant, he was in it's way. The wind crashed against an invisible wall, being fully diverted from striking them. Even so, Verdandi quickly scampered back to Guiche. He placed a hand on Derflinger and maintained the other in position, snapping his head from side to side looking for the assailant.

The only answer to his caution he got was the sound of a growl, but it was odd, as if a lion was trying to growl with a bird's throat. It came from above, and Negi focused on where it came from. He'd never seen a gryphon before. An odd sight revealed itself amongst the mist. It was _much_ smaller than a gryphon dragon, and it's magical presence was much weaker, but it was still a majestic creature all the same.

Its rider was unimpressive by comparison, a tall man in a featureless blue cloak and feathered hat combo. Kinda reminded Negi of the Order Of Red Mages... except in blue. He tipped his hat up with one blue-gloved finger and smiled slightly. It was not a welcoming smile.

"Who are you?" Negi asked, relaxing only slightly.

"Lady Henrietta ordered me to accompany you to Albion. My name is Wardes, I am the captain of the Gryphon Squad." The bearded man introduced himself.

Louise gasped, Negi's eyes softened, but the tension in his body didn't fully leave. He'd had to consciously hold himself back not to pull Derflinger before, but his paranoia was still there. It was annoying.

Montmorency, however, was a bit more elaborate with her reply. "He's a famous Mage Knight!" She exclaimed, causing Negi to turn to stare at her for a second.

Guiche gulped, noticing he'd subconsciously drawn his wand to create a sword to fight with and stepped in between the gryphon and Montmorency. He wisely stored it. He'd been ready to engage in battle. Negi would praise his instincts later.

"Ah, Louise!" Wardes said, ignoring everything to approach the blushing pinkette. "I apologize for surprising you all, but I thought that my fiancée was being attacked."

Both Guiche and Montmorency's jaws dropped, while Negi smiled widely. "Ah, Master, you never told me that you were engaged." He commented, fully relaxing his body.

Wardes easily lifted Louise, carrying her bridal-style. "Ah, you are as light as always, Louise." He commented, imitating Negi's smile. Louise was too mortified to speak.

"Wait, what? How? When? Why?" Montmorency asked, making very accurate hand gestures detailing how her train of thought had just derailed into the ridiculous.

Only then did Louise regain the ability to speak. "Ah, it has been a long time, Sir Wardes..." She said, her blush decreasing to manageable levels.

From afar, Kirche stared at the whole scene, perched on her window, with a slightly annoyed pout. "Negi's more handsome." She commented, almost offhandedly. "But hey... if that other handsome man is with Louise, then Negi's free..." Let us leave this scene before she gets graphic.

Meanwhile, the others were busy packing one of the horses (as Wardes insisted Louise accompany him on his Gryphon) with their cargo. Wardes, in passing, noticed that the rather large flat implement embedded on the ground was a sword, and he tried his best to suppress his surprise to see it disappear into a card.

Negi, however, locked eyes with Wardes for a second, and they smiled at each other. Neither was a trustworthy smile.

By the time they were on the road proper, a few hours had passed. Had they been actually galloping instead of just having the horses walk there, they'd have gotten there by now. Or so Negi guessed. He didn't know, really.

The thing is, on the one hand, he had Montmorency and Guiche's conversation, which had ranged from the practicality of having a metallic rose as your wand to Montmorency's plain old wand. Nothing too important, all in all. Ah, well, at the very least Louise was comfortable.

It was only then that the conversation happened to hit a rather interesting point. "Ah, the elite of elites! To have the captain of the Gryphon Squad escorting us..."

"Yeah, it seems a bit exaggerated for a mission of this nature..." Montmorency commented. "Though, being her Fiancé, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd volunteered. He does have a reputation as a knight in shining armor..."

Guiche then turned to Negi. "What are your thoughts on it, Negi?" He asked, curious.

"Well, with all this going on, I do admit that I'm wondering if his skills can back up his reputation..." He admitted, sheepishly. "It's been a while since I've had a real challenge's all..."

"... Did you miss when we said that he's the captain of the gryphon squad? I know you're powerful and all, but how do you think you compare to him?" Montmorency asked, once curiosity and her better judgment settled in. She'd seen Negi have a conversation with a spirit who would dis Square Class Mages without a second thought, in which the spirit spoke _respectfully_ to him. Granted, it went both ways, but Negi respected pretty much everyone.

"I don't know. I have not heard about his reputation, and even so, I have never seen him fight. Some men cannot be done justice by their reputations or don't compare to their reputation. I have seen examples of both, really."

Montmorency and Guiche were both staring at him in silence. It took ten seconds for them to snap out of it. "But still, just from general observation, what do you think?" Guiche asked.

"Well... As I said, it depends. Specifically, on how good he is on the Knight part, since I am a close range fighter." He continued the explanation, ignoring that they were starting to cross the mountains and the breathtaking scenery that the background provided. "Now, if I go all out, I have absolutely no doubts about my victory."

"Partner, I don't think you need to really try all that hard to defeat this pretty boy. I've seen you when you are not holding back."

"Actually, Derflinger, you haven't seen me go all out. Even that time at Mott's mansion, I was severely holding back because one slip would've meant I'd have killed Mott. I haven't used all of my power at once in a very long time."

"You mean that _Actus Noctis Erebrae_ thing isn't your most powerful spell?"

"Well, no. It is the most basic form of Magia Erebea, actually."

The blonds were shocked, because _everyone_ knew about the 'Mott Incident', which had claimed the sanity of the mansion's lord. The tales had only gotten grander, gorier, bloodier and more terrifying with each retell. And now they had the culprit right there.

It was said that the monstrosity in Mott's mansion had been a black silhouette that was completely unaffected by any damage inflicted, and that its powers allowed it to eat light itself. That it's destructive force could be compared to the greater dragons of old, that it had mentally raped Mott.

They weren't far off, Negi concluded, when they both finished quoting story after story.

"Well, yes, that was me." Negi admitted.

Neither could really speak in his presence for quite a few minutes. Thankfully, it seemed Wardes and Louise were busy talking with each other, a few paces ahead of them, as they seemed to have not heard a single word about what was said. Not even when Montmorency weighed remaining in his presence with jumping off a cliff.

Then Guiche pointed out that he was only further motivated to train under Negi, and Montmorency had no choice but to go along with the blond's enthusiasm.

The rest of the trip was spent by Negi, Montmorency and Guiche talking about fighting as partners. It was more of a lesson, and Negi made sure to point out that Guiche's training was going to increase _epically_ very shortly, to match his choice, while Montmorency would have to train herself so that she wouldn't get exhausted just from activating the contract for ninety second bursts.

Most important of all was that Guiche would likely need a better teacher for swordplay than Negi himself, as while he knew how to hold a smaller weapon, his forte still lay with improbably large and heavy blades, and Guiche was far from having Negi's unnatural, immense strength.

Being human kind of does that. He'd need to teach Guiche how to use his own magic style, because Cantus Bellax, and later, Melodia Bellax, proved invaluable to any aspiring warrior that doesn't use Ki. Were he capable of teaching him how to use Ki, it wouldn't be a problem.

"Ah, there it is! We can see it from here!" Guiche yelled, off the top of his lungs. "It's the port city, La Rochelle!"

Negi wondered what kind of port would be in a mountainous region, but then figured that they probably called it so because they didn't know what an _airport_ is, without airplanes to name them.

* * *

Guiche felt like being a tour guide, that afternoon, explaining to both Montmorency and Negi, the first of whom couldn't care less and the second who was listening with his full attention, the history of the city and the mage who'd carved it from one single stone, drawing comparisons to the work of an artisan.

He really had a passion for the arts in all of their forms, something Negi could actually respect.

Montmorency would've felt more comfortable with it if Guiche hadn't been doing so while everyone stared at them pass. After all, they were trailing Wardes' rather large chocobo reject, which _kind_ of drew attention to itself if only because of it's size (it's wingspan had already caused trouble by whacking someone across the face).

Seriously, was he ever self conscious? She scoffed as he turned her way, offering to show her the city sights later. Mostly because he wanted to see them himself, too.

Soon enough, they actually reached their intended destination, a rather nice looking hotel carved out from a cliff's face.

"We will spend the night here." Wardes spoke, dismounting and settling Louise on the ground. "It is too late to leave for Albion today." He added, turning to the horse-ridding nobles and Negi.

"Understood, Sir Wardes!" Guiche replied, prompting Montmorency to give him a weird look.

"Thank you, Mister Wardes." Negi said, bowing slightly as he dismounted. He had only one thing in mind for now. Room accommodations could wait. He removed all the bags that the most tired horse had been carrying, poor thing had carried the most weight.

Louise ignored how Montmorency and Guiche wandered off to do whatever the hell they did when they were alone, although she suspected it involved Montmorency inflicting violence on Guiche for trying to score with someone else. She didn't have to think about it too much to come up with that conclusion, truth be told.

She walked to where Negi had set down their bags, and her words died on her throat. What had she been trying to say? Was she going to complain about how he didn't at any point even so much as raise an eyebrow to Wardes' treatment of her? Why?

He had only followed proper etiquette and protocol. In this world, his status as Crown Prince was completely void and invalid, in short, he wasn't much better than a commoner, although he had the signature broken magical ability royalty had. It still pissed her off to no end, but she couldn't stay mad at that handsome smile that had no right to be so handsome.

"Ah, Master, is something bothering you?" He asked, hoisting Derflinger over his shoulder.

"H-hey... Even if I am his fiancée, it is something that my parents decided..." She began, seemingly hesitant and doubtful of her words. She didn't know what she was saying, or why she was saying it.

"Master, you do not need to worry about me." He said, smiling that stupid comforting smile that made her stomach turn into a knot so tight it was actually physically painful. "Mr. Wardes is a good man. Up to this point, he is one of the nicest people I have met since coming here." granted a lot of people were nice to him, but most were trying to get into his pants.

"Y-Yes... I've admired him since I was little. He lost his parents when he was young, and had to work very hard to become the captain of the Mage Knights... Kind of reminds me of you, now that I think about it." her voice almost cracked as she finished speaking, because she couldn't quite continue talking.

She didn't know what she was trying to accomplish here. What was the point of forcing this conversation to happen? It wasn't something that was easily solvable like that. She knew, better than anyone, that her mind was not working like it should.

The rule of steel. The rule of steel that had been imprinted on her young, impressionable mind so long ago.

The rule of steel declared that she could not let herself get swayed by personal feelings that easily. That she should have the strength of will to overcome something as embarrassing as the fear of rejection. But even that, only made her question herself even further, because she didn't know why she feared rejection.

She hadn't ever feared it before, with it being the mark of her life.

"Well, Master, I am your familiar, regardless of that, and I will be here for you if you need me." He said, and it was then that the rule of steel was Louise's last bastion of defense, as she simply walked away and headed to her room, as calm as calm could be.

And he merely smiled and promised to come find her when it was time for dinner.

"I think it's quite obvious that you like Louise more than a friend should."

Negi found himself facing the distant setting sun as the sword rambled on and on. That is, until it actually said that. Negi turned to stare at the insanely old blade and then turned back to stare at the horizon. "What do you mean?"

"Nobody would put up with the kind of abuse you've gone through for simple friendship, partner." Derflinger commented. "Not even you."

Negi smiled. "You think, Derflinger?" he said, propping his elbows on the rail that prevented people falling from the rather deep chasm.

"Scratch that. You would."

"Maybe. But I guess it can't be helped. It's how I work."

Derflinger would've laughed. "I take it you've had this conversation a million times."

"Fifty three, actually." Negi freely admitted, wondering how deep the chasm actually was.

"Well, partner, I have come to the conclusion that you are either really easy or a man whore. I am okay with either, really."

Negi chuckled and decided that Halkeginia was really pretty when it needed to be.

* * *

The inn's restaurant was bustling with activity, but four nobles had easily managed to obtain a table. Wardes' presence pretty much granted them top service for a negligible price. He'd chosen to set at the head of the table, with Louise to one side and Montmorency to the other, while Negi sat past Louise and Guiche past Montmorency.

"Worthy of you, Louise, to summon a human as your familiar." Wardes stated, a smile on his face, as everyone sat on a long dinner table.

"Of course!" The sheer pride in her voice was odd. She was proud of the familiar she'd summoned. It had been the first time she'd ignored the insulting connotations of that sentence and actually found it as a point in her favor.

Negi removed his glasses and began cleaning them with a napkin he'd obtained from one of his pockets, then, he smiled, for a change, a warm and pleased smile. One of the waitresses tripped on her own feet, and several women in the house, including Louise and Montmorency, found themselves lacking their breath, suddenly finding their gazes locked on the center of the universe.

Wardes blinked. "Okay. That was uncomfortable." He said, breaking the silence that had formed. "Please, never smile like that again." He omitted the fact that he'd been questioning his sexuality a few seconds before making that comment.

Guiche blinked and shook his head. "Yes. That." he said, nodding in agreement. The sounds of assent of several men were also heard.

Louise, her face pink, also snapped out of the daze. "Negi, please warn us before removing your glasses."

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I was distracted." Negi said, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing sheepishly.

"So... I heard that you two had a duel." Wardes commented.

"No. That wasn't a fight." Montmorency said.

"Didn't last a minute." Louise agreed.

Guiche sweatdropped. "Hey! I wasn't that bad!.. Was I?"

"Well, Guiche, I didn't even have to touch you once." Negi spoke. "You are already better than that, don't worry." the redhead tried his best to reassure the blond, while Wardes chuckled.

"I also heard that you used lightning magic, both to defeat Guiche and subdue Fouquet the crumbling dirt. My runic name is Wardes The Lightning." The man explained, leaning forward. "You understand I boil with anticipation at testing myself against an opponent like you." he continued, the implied challenge making everyone turn

Negi smiled. "Ah, is that so?" He asked, though it was clear that he'd changed moods entirely. He was eager now, hungry for battle. It was a mystery, how he could change from a kind and caring man to one who was a brutal monster when in battle. "You are most informed."

"Thanks to my position, a lot of information comes my way, a man as devoted to protecting those who he loves such as yourself should understand my desire of keeping an eye on Louise."

Negi's smile turned sinister. "I, myself, boil with anticipation at facing you, Mister Wardes."

It wasn't normal to see Negi like that. He didn't seem like he was in his battle mode, even. He was the same familiar Louise had seen when he'd faced Fouquet, or when he dealt with Mott. She felt herself gripped with fear. It was there. It was the same beast she'd seen before, in his eyes, although the chains around it seemed to hold strong for the time being.

Louise did not look forward to the day that those chains broke.

"The boat will depart tomorrow in the afternoon. It would be boring to simply wait for it, don't you agree?"

"Maybe so." Negi said, his smile growing more sinister by the second. "But, Mister Wardes, are you certain you wish to face me? I assume you are aware of the rumors concerning me."

The bearded man chuckled. "You intrigue me, Negi Springfield. I formally challenge you to a duel tomorrow before noon."

"He's dead..." Montmorency muttered.

"Agreed." Guiche replied, in a hushed tone.

"I'm talking about Wardes." Montmorency added.

"So am I."

Negi grinned, and it was like the beast was crashing against its restraints. "I accept, Wardes"

The table went silent as everyone's attention focused on the two. "I think it is obvious that I won't be holding back."

Negi reduced his grin to a simple smile and shook his head. "I would be insulted if you did, Lord Wardes."

They didn't seem to like each other very much... and then the heavy atmosphere went away, and the tension dispersed. It almost gave Louise whiplash how a simple comment by Guiche, which ended in him getting slapped by Montmorency, could bring silly back so easily.

She was conflicted. She knew who to cheer for, there was no doubt in her heart in the end, the problem was that she was starting to fear for Wardes' life...

"Ah, I think it is about time we returned to our rooms." Wardes said, standing up. "Louise, accompany me."

"B-But, we are not married yet..." She stammered.

"There is no problem. You are, after all, my fiancée."

"Ah, Mister Wardes, I trust you would not try to force yourself on Master." Negi said, his smile bright and cheery. It sent chills down the older man's spine. He was certain that, for all of a second, he'd seen a flame-like glyph appear in Negi's pupils. Had to have been his imagination. The message was clear, however.

"I have something very important to tell you." He told her, whispering next to her ear, as they both left, arms linked. Negi did not miss the slight drag to Louise's step. Negi was beginning to dislike Wardes. They spent some more time simply chatting amongst themselves, with Negi managing to find a decent brew of green tea amongst the menu. And invitations to the rooms of at least twenty women, all of which he had to decline to as politely as he could.

He eventually found out that the comment that had warranted the earlier slap was about how they would share a room and engage in that which all non-celibate couples engage in.

* * *

Negi sat in a balcony with Guiche, who was leaning against the veranda. Both were staring at the distant moons as if they were the projections of the concept of beauty itself given form. "Such a beautiful night. It is a shame that Montmorency did not wish to room with me for tonight."

"You're going too fast." Negi chastised. "It is her choice, ultimately, and you should respect it." He told the blond, leaning back slightly. "I am, however, certain that she would not mind going out for a nightly walk."

Guiche smiled. "I will be off, then."

Negi and Guiche fist bumped, in a manner that rattled the bones in Guiche's arm. He was told that the strength of those would be an indicative of how much stronger he was becoming. As it was, he was always hurt by it, but Negi had told him that he and his rival were capable of creating shockwaves by casually tapping each other's knuckles.

Once the blond was away, however, Negi noticed that Derflinger was eerily silent. "You're thinking about the conversation we had with the water spirit, aren't you?" the sword finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"I have to admit, I had already suspected it. Seeing the map in Colbert's laboratory sealed it. I know where I am now. And to be frank, this is actually good news for what is my ultimate purpose here."

The sword seemed to go for the inquisitive silence, prompting him to elaborate.

"I didn't see it at first, because Great Britain was missing, but now it is painfully obvious. This world and mine are two sides of the same coin. Parallel worlds set on the same template, on entirely different planes of reality." He explained, staring at the two distant moons. "The second moon threw me off, I admit, but I will eventually find out why it appears that this world has two moons, despite Earth only having one." The redhead finished, sounding entirely too hopeful for someone who was talking about being in a different plane from his home world.

"How does this simplify creating a bridge to your own world, partner?"

"It is hard to create a gate between two places in the same plane of existence. Very few of these exist because the enchantments to create them take years to complete, and even then are not guaranteed to work, as they are supposed to work with very delicate pieces of machinery. They are very theoretical and recent creations, brought on by the advent of the fusion of modern technology, centuries beyond what Halkeginia possesses, and magic." He felt odd giving a lecture to a sword. "Something as a simple miscalculation or misalignment can cause the gate to fail entirely, so it is not something that is available today."

"Get to the point, Partner." The sword didn't care much for magical theory, as it was more an object of action than the academical matters.

"To put it simply, a gate between dimensions is something of more guaranteed success, as it has been studied by the magical community of my world for at the very least two centuries, to connect two worlds on a metaphysical level. It is something that I know can be done."

Derflinger marveled at Negi's exposition, because it was intriguing to see the many facets of its wielder's character. A man who could go from a kind and caring scholarly man to a battle-lusting monstrosity was nothing short of surprising.

"However, my conversation with Colbert opened another doubt. Derflinger, tell me, what is a Gandalfr? The spirit did not know how to answer this, and I assume that something as old as yourself should be knowledgeable about such a legend."

The legend was simple enough.

"Hn... So I have the ability to use any weapon, and to do so with tremendous physical ability."

"Although it will only activate for something that was intended to be a weapon." Derflinger explained, not even breaking stride. "You already have abilities far beyond any of my previous wielders, so I think that bit is useless for you."

"The ability to manipulate anything that was designed to be a weapon with ease could actually be handy. Although it would be better if it was anything I could conceive as a weapon, believe me, I have seen people make weapons out of anything. A legendary warrior of my world won a fight with a wooden stick." Negi said, chuckling slightly. "With that out of the way, tell me, Derflinger... Is there a possibility that the runes might be affecting my behavior?"

The sword's monosyllabic response had been something that Negi had expected, but it'd still caused great anger to boil inside of him as he stared at the runes on his left fist.

* * *

No Omake for this chapter either.

Aerials In The Sky


	13. Card Games In Resorts

**Author's Notes:  
**REEEEALLY sorry about the delay. I just had a titanic block in my path.

Great Vampire-Shinso: No, no, Brimir y El Mago Del Inicio no son la misma persona, aunque esto ya se obvia con este capitulo de la mano de Albireo.

The Flying Frog: I don't think it was carelessness either, heh. And it is Negi Springfield. If he's asked to go all out, he _will_, and then you're _boned_.

And thank you to everyone else, because we are officially past 150 reviews! Of course, this is all thanks to you lot. In any case, sorry if this feels like a middle finger to all of you who were waiting for the Wardes / Negi fight.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 13: Your Pimping Majesty

"Report from Mundus Diabolicus! There is nothing yet, sir, we will begin searching on the southern edges of Gehenna now!"

Tatsumiya Mana closed the connection, before turning to face the agents whose chat she'd interrupted to answer the previous call.

"I do not care if you have to search the entire solar system, you will search for him and you will _find him_. We have dedicated most of our resources to this task. Drop anything else you might have been involved on and commit yourselves to this task."

The dark skinned woman radiated an aura of pure, distilled killing instinct. It was the sort of moment in which every agent under her understood exactly why she was the most feared mercenary in the world only years before, and why nobody wanted to truly anger her. It wasn't as if it were easy to anger her. The only one who had it easy was a certain space ninja.

"Yes, sir!" The agents replied, saluting as they did. They rushed out of the room merely seconds after.

"Captain Commander Tatsumiya, how come everyone is so sure that the director is alive? Many of us succumbed to despair after his sudden disappearance. It has been a week, and there still aren't any clues as to his whereabouts." Tatsumiya's secretary, a plain woman who didn't have any outstanding quirks, asked her.

The Captain pulled a card from one of her desk's drawers. "Our Pactio cards. All of them are fully active. Their telepathy is nigh useless for this, but they are the undeniable proof that he is still alive."

Kaede was in the room. Not feeling her entrance was par for the course. Didn't prevent the secretary from reacting in shock to it. The ninja did not have a happy expression on her face. "Nothing yet." A statement that required not be a question.

It didn't matter much that it was work hours and that the both of them were deathly tired, or that there were more people in the room Both of them needed the stress relief.

* * *

A certain blond, childlike vampire was not having a good week, even as she leaned back into her chair, bored as she was. She couldn't quite do much as it was, as her expertise lay more in destroying people rather than seeking and finding them. She wouldn't do it, anyway.

If her apprentice wasn't strong enough to fight his way off whatever predicament he was in, then he wasn't worthy of being her apprentice in the first place. It didn't matter to her that he'd cut down severely on his training lately, or that she had to visit him instead of the other way around, he was still _her apprentice_, and she'd be damned before she allowed him to just vanish like that.

It wasn't an uncommon feeling for her, but it was still one of the most despised ones in her mind.

And it only got worse because the one who was supposed to serve the tea that would calm her was only further distraught by all of it.

So as Evangeline poured herself some tea (an activity she'd have to get used to at some point down the line), she couldn't help but curse him for, in the end, being just like his father. Same as the other redheaded moron, he'd gone and disappeared on her without even a word.

"Jerks. Both of them." She said, as Chachazero seemed to entertain herself by randomly mutilating _something_ that had tried to infiltrate the workshop. It appeared that this time, it was a cupboard. She did that a lot whenever she didn't have any other way to vent her murderous tendencies. The cupboard was by now completely unrecognizable.

Much more so now, as she'd ordered her not to let absolutely anyone, without her permission, inside her workshop or it's immediate area. She'd make damn sure that she'd have something ready to kick his ass for disappearing on her, and she wouldn't want to ruin the surprise. But even so, right now, she had more important things to focus on.

Like sending a certain asshole to greet the two that would soon arrive. She didn't know why Albireo liked so much using her resort as a spot to gather everyone together. Maybe it was because it allowed them quite a long time to plan.

Or maybe he just wanted to see her in a swimsuit. Explained why they were on a beach. She wouldn't put it past him. He'd only gotten worse with the years, and that tendency didn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

She closed the hidden door to her workshop and gave Chachazero a new set of orders. Threaten anything that came close with a pair of knives, but don't kill. Unless it's Albireo. _Then_, kill in most painful way possible.

* * *

Being a magical detective isn't all that it's cracked up to be. You have to deal with pathetic cases almost ninety percent of the time. After all, it wasn't always that you had a magical terrorist trying to blow the crap out of an airport with Incendium Gehennae when he can't even cast it.

Yue made a show of explaining why exactly one can't just cast High Ancient Magic like that and that power is not everything. And that if you want to be a credible threat, start through the basics.

Even past that, you often have to deal with the occasional case where you had to defend the bad guy, because the bad guy is the one who is paying you. Sure, she made her best attempt at not taking these cases when she could avoid them, she wasn't _starving_, but she still had to make money to pay for her studies.

Working for the ISSDA directly, meanwhile, was a few orders of magnitude worse. She hadn't expected special treatment, but to be treated like a simple grunt when she was actually hired by the ISSDA as a Detective for one very delicate case was beginning to get annoying. Even worse, Mana had whipped the military division of the ISSDA into an army that made the Blackwatch look positively undisciplined... When in duty.

At least seeing Nodoka again was enough to make her day.

She ignored the growing pools of blood that formed whenever most people saw them pass, only blushing slightly when she realized that she couldn't really deny the rumors. Nasal bleeding seemed a common problem amongst the ISSDA's male personnel. It seemed Nodoka _really_ missed Negi by this point. Not a problem with her, really. She did, too, and as much as she liked Emily, Collet and Beatrix, some things really have no comparison.

It was unfair, sure, since he had that much more practice than all three of them put together, but hey, the world is never fair. Poor Nodoka, however, was a blushing mess every time she noticed the attention that the male personnel gave her... Particularly those who asked her to take pictures...

She blinked when Nodoka held an envelope up. "This is what we called you for." And when she asked her with such a sweet smile, how could she refuse such a pretty dame's request? "I'm really sorry that this is so sudden but..."

"Yes, I understand, I'm worried too."

The letter contained simple instructions. Go to Ariadne and convince everyone that Negi was on holidays because of his stress. Since she was a graduate who had actually reached urban legend status on the school mostly thanks to her ability to attract girls left and right and leave them all crying and one of the few people who would be trusted with such information, well, she was an obvious choice.

The truth wasn't taken well amongst her inner circles or the people who were fit to handle it. Seras promised aid in any way she could. A nice thought, to see so many people mobilized. However, she also had other duties to attend to, so she politely declined Emily's invitation to stay the night. She did, however, indulge her for an afternoon tea with Collet and Beatrix.

Their kind of afternoon tea just happened to be exhausting.

"How... How is it even possible?" someone asked. "She's not even all that pretty..."

"Well... she learned from the master..." someone else replied.

"Ah, Negi-sama!" both swooned.

* * *

Theodora sighed, as Jack Rakan waved her concerns off, leaning back into his comfortable couch. A couch he'd claimed possession of twenty seconds ago. "Eh, the kid'll be back before you know it." The large, muscular man spoke, grinning like a moron. "People like us don't lay down for long."

"You say that after effectively falling off the map for ten years. So much so that not even we could find you." The Third Princess snapped, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I swear, you jackass, you never worry about anything."

"I trust in his ability to punch his way out of any predicament."

Theodora glared at him. "Not everything can be resolved through your fists."

"Bullshit it can't. So far, violence has resolved all of my problems and saved the world _twice_. I say it has a very good track record." He grinned, crossing his arms over his wide chest, seeing her pout as she found out that finding an answer for that was all kinds of impossible. He _did_ have a point.

"The problem is that this makes all of our work in getting the old kingdom back onto shape crash down on us. The people want him as their king, if not acting then as a figurehead, and it was mostly his political weight that made it possible at all. Without him, Godel thinks it will take forever."

Rakan seemed to fall into thought for a few seconds. "You know, he was always pessimistic, that one." He admitted, grinning like a fool. "Nobody knows he's gone yet, anyway."

"But they will know, eventually." She tried her hardest not to glare at him for treating his disappearance so flippantly. Shouldn't he be worried about the fact that the son of his best friend disappeared? "Urgh, without him, it'll look like I'm trying to restart the Schismatic War."

"You know, you could just gather the kiddies and have them back you up. And for anything requiring blowing up stuff, well, that's what I'm here for."

The princess shook her head, then smirked at him. "Hell no, I need stress relief and you have unlimited stamina. I can think of several other uses for you."

The maids wondered if a hurricane had somehow managed to sneak into the Third Princess' room, but when they'd gone to clean it, both she and the mountain of muscle were gone, god knows where to.

In a distant hill, explosions were occurring as a certain jackass avoided spell after spell after spell, while a crazy female yelled something about treating her like a little girl, about how he never took anything seriously, about how he stole her panties and about him being an idiot. Altogether, a normal day for Theodora's staff.

* * *

Takamichi T. Takahata, also known as Death Glasses Takahata, completely unrelated to a certain engine of pink destruction except on the occasional typo and also unrelated to a comedian with the same family name, was a patient man. It took a lot to get a rise out of him. In fact, very few people could boast about having made him lose his temper.

The asshole that was currently cheating in their game of chess could be counted amongst those few people.

"I hate you. I hate you so much right now, that if someone invented a generator that ran on hate, I could power the entire world." He said, as he shared a limousine with a rather exhausted looking Kurt Godel, who didn't seem too friendly either. "Both of them."

"The force of our combined hatred of each other would probably be greater than Negi's charisma." The politician agreed. "By the way, check."

Takamichi moved a Rook to eat an offending Pawn. "Whose idea was it to stick us in the same car?"

The dark skinned driver and the spiky haired boy carrying a Nodachi in the passenger's seat whistled innocently.

"... So, there's nothing about him yet?"

A Bishop ate a Rook and Takahata was in check again.

Godel shook his head. He'd been expecting the mellow man who looked way older than what he was to ask that question. "The operations regarding Vespertatia were frozen as a result. I have been talking to Princess Theodora and we have been discussing the possibility of continuing without him for the moment, but we can't reinstate the kingdom without him, Megalomesembria is pushing to place one of their officials as a regent."

Takahata scowled. "Aren't you the one in charge of those territories?"

"Now. The problem is that I can't go against the majority of the Senate, and the overwhelming majority wishes to maintain their hold over Vespertatia. Were Negi here, we'd just use his position as Heir to argue for his claim at the throne. Or just have him point out that if he wants to take over, there is not much they can do to stop him."

The game continued, as several more moves were made in the meantime, while they played in silence. "Or his harem of an army." Takahata broke the silence only briefly. "But won't stop them from trying, I imagine. I mean, they tried to get at us directly time and time again, didn't they?"

They seemed to share a thought in a moment that happened only once in a million years. It was, as expected, their mutual hatred for the Megalomesembrian Senate.

The king laid bare. "Checkmate."

For some reason, Godel felt like flipping the table, however, being a properly trained Shinmeiryuu swordsman, he opted to cut it in half with a spoon he'd fished from one of the limousine's hidden compartments. "You cheated!"

"No, _you_ were trying to cheat and couldn't!"

The rest of the ride occurred in silence. It was only when they arrived at Evangeline's cottage that the two stopped glaring at each other for two seconds. Godel's apprentice and boy servant helpfully pointed out that while Godel had indeed been attempting to cheat, Takahata had won by fluke, mostly because Godel had been too busy trying to find a way to cheat.

It was mostly because that's what he did. He was, after all, a politician.

Albireo chuckled as he saw them fight, then guided them to Evangeline's resort. Because old friends some times gather together for the hell of it, even if they hate each other. _Especially_ if they hate each other. Besides, it was always hilarious how they'd exchange punches when they thought nobody could see them.

Such a pair of idiots could only have ended up as the most vitriolic pair of best friends out there. Maybe. Some times, Albireo thought that Rakan and Nagi had been a terrible influence on the both of them. Then he remembered the sheer hilarity that the two grown men acting like children provided and shrugged all other thoughts off.

* * *

_With the resident yuri couple..._

Konoka wasn't really a person who liked violence. Well, not that much, anyway. Some kinds of violence were okay, such as exhibition fights, or fighting for the hell of it, because she knew that some people had fun fighting. Setsuna herself, no matter how much she denied it, found great glee in testing herself against a fellow blade expert.

Even if that fellow blade expert was making not so subtle threats about rape about every time they pushed away from each other, their clashes sporadic and characterized by an exchange of blades so fast it might as well be invisible. It was true that the patterns they wrote on the air with the swordplay had changed from brutal to beautiful, and Konoka could recognize that.

And if Konoka were to be honest herself, there wasn't anything _quite_ as satisfying as watching Tsukuyomi drop to her knees, completely incapable of so much as touching her beloved Setchan. Setsuna herself was also winded, although it was clear that without the Hina, Tsukuyomi was only barely capable of matching Setsuna, who'd grown powerful enough to call the White Wing Sword on command, while Konoka herself just had a pleased smile on her face as she casually rested atop a rock.

Tsukuyomi knew targeting Konoka meant instant defeat since Setsuna would've ample time to Ni No Tachi her to oblivion, without having to worry about hitting Konoka, so she hadn't bothered to go that far. She was far more interested in Setsuna, anyway.

Then Konoka pointed her wand, a deceiver's implement for it was most decidedly _not_ a practice wand, at Tsukuyomi's feet. _"Lucifer, filius matutinus. Te voco. Descende ad terram!"_ She said, her voice entirely dissonant given the nature of the call she was making. _"Matutina Stella!"_

The psycho lesbian swords woman only had time to mutter an almost unheard "Oh Shi-" before the world exploded in light below her and sent her flying, columns of light exploding from the general area she'd been standing in while Konoka waved from the ground at the disappearing glint in the sky.

Setsuna pouted up at Konoka, who giggled lightly.

"Sorry, Setchan, but you were taking too long!" Konoka spoke. "We still have to get to the Overlord's castle! If Negi-kun is here, the overlord will probably know. Besides, all of the readings of my destiny said that I should come here anyway. Something about the end of the world."

"Kono-chan, we shouldn't trust demons this easily! They could very easily lie to us."

Konoka waved her concerns off. "The overlord is Poyo-san, Zazie-san's sister. I'm sure she won't lie to us, not when the world is hanging on the balance."

"I just hope this doesn't end like that time we went to Gehenna for our honeymoon." Setsuna commented, uncomfortably scratching her arm.

Konoka laughed openly. "Ah, Setchan, I didn't think it was a bad show at all..." She said, a perverted smirk on her face. "Why, I'm sure that the crowd would be clamoring for a repeat!"

"B-But I did that in front of everyone..." Setsuna sputtered.

"Well, yes, _we_ did those things in front of everyone... Oh, can we do it again?"

And now Setsuna was looking suspiciously similar to a tomato. She wisely shut up, spread her wings and took to the air, leaving a laughing Konoka behind. The worst part was that Setsuna knew that Konoka had been entirely serious about trying it again.

What kind of moron drinks the same ale that they were supposed to bribe the council with? It was a stupid, stupid idea and it had worked _flawlessly_. Stupid demons were stupidly easy to convince to do pretty much anything. And now she would probably have to do something of that kind again, it was the tried and proven fastest way, after all...

Maybe she'd have to fight off those asking for a threesome _again_. It couldn't be worse than that time when she'd been out of clothes to wear and Negi had to lend her one of his old suits, along with instructions on how to pull off the gentleman gig.

Suffice to say, it had involved Konoka not so subtly stating that she can, indeed, pull off the bishonen look.

* * *

It wasn't uncommon to see three visitors to Evangeline's resort. As a matter of fact, it was card games Saturday, and it was common to see upwards of four or five visitors. It certainly didn't help that her former class saw fit to use her resort whenever they needed a vacation. It was starting to drive her nuts, truth be told.

Particularly since they never paid rent.

Still, even as Albireo shuffled the deck, she couldn't help trying to spontaneously form ice in his innards. Ice spears, to be exact. "Come on!"

"Ah, eager to lose, kitty?" Albireo asked, smiling in that way that made her blood boil, her rage accompanying it. It was hard not to pound his head in right then and there. "You're stressed, you should take a vacation."

"Now's not the time for that." Kurt pointed out, as a few of Evangeline's robot maids went about serving tea. He drank it while trying to relax. "We really need to hurry."

Takamichi, grimacing, nodded. He didn't like agreeing with him.

"You all need to chill." Albireo said, using magic to send the cards to their receivers. He smirked at his own handful and leaned back into his chair.

"How can you be so relaxed?" The oldest appearing of the four, despite being the youngest, asked, clearly stressed himself. Also in distress. He'd gotten a shitty hand. But that happened a lot whenever Albireo deals.

Evangeline leaned back and sipped on her tea, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Why be stressed? It _is_ Negi we are talking about..." The blue haired man said, still staring intently at everyone else, picking up every single small cue.

"Exactly because of that." Evangeline said, scowling at Albireo. "Knowing him, he's already building another harem."

"Jealous, kitty?" Albireo was honestly surprised, he didn't think he'd have his work cut out for him when it came to annoying Evangeline. It seemed she was too stressed to be wary of that.

"Hell no!" She yelled, flustered.

"Well, I wouldn't put it past him." Takamichi said, laughing briefly. Cards flowed back and forth as the game continued. "Where is Eishun-san? He said he would come..."

"His wife hasn't let him have any fun ever since he approved Konoka's honeymoon to Gehenna. In hindsight, it was a terrible idea. Those _poor, poor demons_." Albireo explained, smiling in a way that didn't fit his comment, as he turned to stare at Evangeline.

Evangeline smirked. "Well, she came to me for training. Was I supposed to say no?"

Albireo won the hand rather easily. Unlike Kurt, he was actually skilled when it came down to cheating and could thus do so completely undetected, even by Evangeline. It was a little known fact that he had given Jack Rakan lessons on how to cheat in many card games.

Even so, all three of his gaming companions actually knew that fact and didn't count his victories. He was cheating anyway.

"This is annoying as hell. We were so close!" Kurt growled.

"Well, it is always a possibility that he'll just reappear like he disappeared."

Everyone stared at Albireo.

"What? It happens."

It was then that Evangeline couldn't quite stand it anymore. "Okay, what do you know that we don't?" But it was still Takamichi who asked, because Evangeline would've been a fair bit less polite about it.

"Many things." Albireo said, an untrustworthy smile on his face. "Like, for example, the fact that Kitty's favorite color is red, or that you are wearing teddy bear boxers, Takamichi-kun."

"Wait, red?"

"Teddy bear boxers?"

Evangeline and Takamichi stared at each other for a good few seconds. "... Actually, thinking about it, it _does_ make sense..." Kurt mused.

"How?" Takamichi asked, because he didn't quite get it.

"I'll tell you when you grow up." Albireo spoke, a proud smirk on his face. Takamichi looked at him with his face as deadpan as possible. "... More." The oldest added.

"Teddy bear boxers?" Evangeline asked again.

"They were a gift!" Takamichi defended.

Nobody bothered to mention the fact that they were probably a gift from Asuna, as an in joke. Everyone knew about the Teddy Bear Underwear incident, as it was an anecdote Albireo was fairly eager to use to embarrass Takamichi.

"Regardless of that, what do you know that we don't?" Asked Kurt, ignoring the distracted Takamichi and Evangeline.

"I've been around for a long, long time and I met a lot of people over that time." Albireo said, throwing a card to the center of the table, where Evangeline snatched it as she went about her turn. "Some were more interesting than others."

"How old _are_ you, really?"

"That's a secret." Albireo said, stealing a grin from the Cheshire cat.

Did you just quote Xellos? In my fic?

Albireo merely smiled, ignoring the poor narrator who doesn't know what the hell is going on anymore and they continued playing.

"In any case, how does that answer our question?"

"It means that you should trust my judgment. Negi-kun will be fine. Have some trust in him." Albireo said, giving his cards a look that went halfway through amused and bemused. Meaning, neutral.

"... I wouldn't trust your judgment even if you gained the wisdom of Solomon."

"Oh, Kitty, you wound me! I _am_ Solomon."

Everyone stared at him, their faces deadpan.

"Okay, okay, I'm not." Albireo said, laughing briefly. "Though I _was_ an adviser to Gilgamesh and believe me, that man was trouble. Truth be told, Arturia-chan was a way better king."

"You know, I should probably be surprised, but I'm not anymore. Nothing you say can surprise me anymore." Takamichi said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Arturia?" Asked Kurt, finding confusion sinking in. "King?"

"Don't tell me..."

"Yep. King Arthur Pendragon was a woman. So was Nero Claudius, but that's a story for another time. Now that I think about it, other than breast size, I think they were actually identical... Shows what powerful genes can do, I guess."

The three others, surprised, stared at the blue haired man for a full minute. "The hell?"

"As I said, that's a story for another time." The blue haired man continued playing, waving their concerns off.

Even the Robot Maids had stopped their service to stare at him from the last revelation.

Nobody knows who won that round, though theories suggest it was Albireo because everyone else was too distracted to focus. Evangeline, however, quickly recovered, being used to his absurd nonsense that somehow turned out to be the complete truth at the worst times imaginable. "Tell me what you know _now_." she commanded, the temperature dropping from the beach's heat to typical tomb chill in two seconds.

Nobody missed the fact that the maids had carefully sealed the portal to the main sphere of the resort. There was no way out unless he wanted to blow the crap out of them, and being such cute girls, he wouldn't do so.

Evangeline was crafty when she wanted to be.

"Well, well, I guess I could divulge a tale or two." The man began, smirking contentedly. "A long long time ago, in a country far away, our island was under attack..."

It would've helped if he wasn't _singing_ the tale. Stupid bards, Evangeline had _always_ hated them and made a point of transforming their sad excuses for lutes into ice statues.

All three listened to the tale enraptured by it. Sure, Albireo's singing was kind of off key, but it didn't bother because he was a master storyteller. Such a thing comes with his ludicrous age, I imagine.

Then, the most interesting part began, and Albireo got serious. "You see, not everyone was part of the common rabble." The oldest man said, smirking. "Oh, yes, there were a great many individuals with talent across the ages, and I have seen some of the greatest prodigies in history. So, it was a given that some would look for something else from their magic than just destruction and manipulation, don't you think?"

"What..." It wasn't a question, it was merely a statement made when realization struck.

"Have you ever wondered why Mundus Magicus is anchored to Mars instead of to Earth itself?"

* * *

Negi let a breath out and cleared his mind. He concentrated fully, and could only then feel a weird strain begin to form. "I see it now. I guess part of their influence prevented me from fully noticing until it was spelled out for me." He said, almost monotone, as he forced himself to regain his calm. "I... can't say I hadn't expected it."

"What now, Partner?"

Negi turned to look at the sword again. "Well, the runes' commands are not etched into my soul and are not absolute. Even when Louise ordered me not to save Siesta, I had absolutely no trouble shaking off the runes' influence... I am fairly sure the enchantment itself can be broken."

Derflinger seemed interested. "Oh, really?" it asked, not even trying to disguise its curiosity.

"I know a spell that can break any enchantment or contract. I used it to free one of my teachers from a curse my father placed on her. Normally, it would require a lot of preparation, but the second time around will be much easier." Negi explained, folding his arms over his chest. "Though it'd still require a complicated ritual." he admitted.

"You plan on doing it, Partner? I thought you were loyal to Louise." The sword said, its voice completely neutral.

"Not yet, no. If I am aware of it, my magical resistance kicks in and I can fight it back. It is a bit tiring to have to constantly deny its effects on me, but at least I get to think clearly." The red headed young man spoke, staring at the sword, then at the runes in his hand. "This would be more convenient if it didn't hamper my regeneration."

"But your regeneration doesn't seem particularly slow." Derflinger pointed out.

"I should be able to shrug off almost anything, Derflinger, and to stand back up after being sliced to pieces without even a scratch." the redhead commented. "When you saw Mott attack me you saw the true extent of my regeneration, and even then, it was only because I intentionally let the icicles pierce my skin. When I say that I am really tough, I mean it." Negi explained, looking completely calm as he did so. It seemed he'd finally managed to shackle down that anger.

"Well, that doesn't sound like the qualities of a human, no matter how great a mage. All Gandalfrs are human." Derflinger didn't seem too impressed by Negi's comment. He'd seen his regeneration personally... swordelly... what the hell am I supposed to say here?

"Then I guess the runes are keeping me restrained to a human level. I am not Human, Derflinger, and I haven't been one for a long time." He sighed, then continued to sit in thought in the bed he'd chosen. "This is just guesswork, but I think that I can extrapolate what the limits the runes place upon me from the actions I have performed under their influence."

"Oh, do tell." Derflinger seemed uncharacteristically interested in what Negi had to say. Possibly to warn a future partner or something.

"I can't directly say no to Louise. Not if I'm not convicted entirely to the cause. The runes cannot interfere with my basic nature." He began explaining. "But it does explain why I say no to Kirche without a doubt, no matter how tempted I might be to say otherwise. Louise gave and stressed the command not to say yes to her, and it seems that the Runes are enforcing that command."

The sword hummed. "A pity, eh partner?" It said, causing Negi to laugh quietly.

"And it seems that when it comes down to protecting her, I am a bit more... forceful than what is strictly required... I have found myself pulling you against opponents that I can easily knock out with my bare hands, and I've found myself swinging with intent to kill too many times. I don't want to kill anyone, Derflinger." He explained, looking at the ground, anger evident in his voice. "And so far, there is only one moment when I am free of the runes' effects."

"I think I know when exactly." The sword spoke. "When you were fighting Mott, you didn't have any compulsions and your regeneration was working at what I assume is full power."

"Exactly." Negi said, grinning. "That is Magia Erebea. It should be part of my body and automatically take effect, protecting me from harm and strengthening me. But it hasn't. In fact, since I came here, it has only activated itself once."

"When the golem punched you." Derflinger supplied. Negi nodded in response.

"Then... There is only one more thing to check..." The redhead said, grabbing Derflinger's handle. The runes in his left fist, which was clenched around the sword, began shining brightly. _"Actus Noctis Erebrae"_

Dark miasma floated off from the pitch black figure covered in glowing glyphs in the badass armored long coat. "As I expected, the strain of fighting the runes' influence is gone. It seems that they suppress Magia Erebea, but forcefully activating it bypasses their effects." Then he looked at his fist. The glow of the runes was gone. "But this also means I can't use both in tandem. This isn't a problem, because I don't think there are many people in this world who would require me going all out."

"You know partner, knowing that this much power is only a little bit of what you can really do only makes me want to see your real power more. One of these days, you've got to show me." Negi laughed, his voice reverberating due to the spell's influence.

"Maybe some day, Derflinger, I will show you the power of _Armationem_." The clouds of miasma were gone, and the figure turned to a familiar redhead. Yeah, that pun was horrible, you may fire when ready. "Right now, however, there isn't much I can do about this. The impotence is killing me, Derflinger."

"What do you mean?" The sword was strangely talkative that night. It was often content with merely watching the events unfold from afar.

"I want to help the Princess, and I want to help Louise, but I can't help the princess. I'm fairly certain that if it did come down to war, I could make the difference, but I don't want to kill that many people. I want to avoid war as much as possible."

"That's why you didn't offer to fight." The sword concluded.

"Yes. I don't want to interfere in a war like this. It wouldn't be fighting for justice or to protect my master, Derflinger, it would just be a massacre." Negi finished, sighing. "But I fear that what I want would be of little consequence, in the end."

"Why for?"

"I promised I would never let any harm come to my friends ever again. And if to uphold that promise I have to fight an entire army, then so be it. Even if I had to die or suffer a torment worse than Prometheus', I would still give it my all."

* * *

Whew. Took forever.

Aerials, So Up High.


	14. Red Rum

**Author's Note:  
**As always, a thank you to everyone for your reviews. And I apologize if you felt the delay for the fight where Wardes gets his ass handed to him was unnecessary, but... yeah, I wanted to write a chapter that showed that Negi's disappearance isn't ignorable.

There's lots of stuff depending on him and he knows it, which is why he isn't just standing still waiting for rescue. I think I've made it clear that he studies Halkeginian magic in an attempt to reverse the ritual despite the runes' effects.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 14: He Totally Had It Coming

The room's lighting was perfect. The atmosphere was undeniably that of a romantic, private night. Louise had to, if nothing else, commend Wardes' ability to create a proper atmosphere.

"I don't intend to spend the rest of my days as the Captain of the Magic Knights." Explained the man who towered above Louise, holding his hand out and waving his cup dramatically to emphasize his speech. "I wish to become a noble that will inspire this kingdom, no, all of Halkeginia!"

"B-But... Getting married so suddenly..." Louise blushed, but she couldn't entirely tell why she was so darned opposed to the idea. She just didn't want to get married to him, but she didn't know why, and it was starting to overpower the embarrassment that the whole situation poured on her.

The rule of steel claimed focus. Hell be frozen over before she'd let herself be swayed like this. After all, even her familiar seemed to be able to keep his cool in almost any situation.

"I need you, Louise."

"It is still too sudden." Louise retorted, turning to face him, her face set in an almost entirely neutral expression, only the faint traces of embarrassment leaked through the mask.

Wardes cupped her chin and whispered her name, and she felt tempted to just let herself break under the pressure.

The Rule of Steel held firm, and she merely stared at him as his face came close to hers, past her lips and next to her ear. "I will protect you."

Protect her?

It was a stupid claim. Because she didn't need him for that. She didn't need him to protect her. She was working on becoming a better mage, on manipulating her faulty magic to be devastating. And even if she didn't go for those lengths, she still had something very clear in her mind.

There was someone else to protect her. There was someone who wouldn't ask for anything in return, who would take any punishment for her, who would gladly accept the pain of a thousand deaths if it meant she wouldn't have to put up with a stubbed toe, who would engage in a knife fight with God for her sake. And probably win, too, he was that damned broken.

Wardes The Lightning just couldn't hold a candle to him, no matter how much he tried. Their stories, their elements and even their personalities were close, but the difference was clear. They were at two completely different levels.

One was handsome, the other could make people faint merely by smiling at them.

One was a powerful mage knight, the other was outright broken.

One was an orphan who fought for everything he has, the other was an orphan who fought not for himself but for every single one of his friends.

In her mind, in the deepest, farthest reaches of the labyrinth of walls that she built around her heart, the choice was a clear one. There was no comparison at all.

She calmly placed a hand on Wardes' chest and looked at him with a bemused expression, shaking her head as the man pulled away from her. She still didn't entirely know nor realize why she just couldn't let him kiss her.

"I am sorry, but we have a responsibility to fulfill. We are on a mission. It's not the time for this." the pinkette said.

Wardes chuckled at the sight and sound, taking a step back. "It seems you are more like your mother every day, Louise." The man spoke, although to Louise it was clear his smile was not his usual smile. "Or is it that a young man is currently residing in your heart?"

Louise frantically shook her head, blushing like a tomato. "N-no! It's nothing like that!" she almost yelled.

"It's alright. I won't ask for an answer right now."

Louise remained on her chair, glancing at the glass of wine she currently held in her hands as Wardes calmly walked away, placing one hand on the door's handle. "It is alright. I know that your heart will lean towards me by the end of this journey." And if she hadn't been paying attention, she might have missed the fact that those words sounded fairly suspicious, even ominous.

Louise blinked. "Where will you sleep, then?" she asked, absent minded.

"I will just rent another room. Good night, Louise." His smile didn't falter, but it utterly failed to convince Louise. It was clear that Wardes was more than a bit upset.

"Good night, Lord Wardes." She replied, as the man closed the door and walked away.

* * *

"Just this once?" Guiche pleaded.

"No!"

"But I've wanted to try ever since Negi taught it to me!" The blond continued to plead, now getting on his knees in the dim light provided by the inn's main door.

"Never!" Montmorency continued, her denial absolute.

A few minutes, around fifteen to be a bit more precise, and we come back to our happy, if blond, couple.

"... Let's do it again." Montmorency said, blushing noticeably.

Guiche pumped his fist. "I knew it! Master Negi's techniques never fail!"

"You're gonna call him Master now?" Montmorency asked, tilting her head. To her, it sounded fairly stupid.

"Well, he called _his_ teachers Master, so I don't see why not..."

"Makes sense, I guess, as much sense as that man ever makes, anyway." Montmorency finished, shrugging. "Let's get back to it!"

"Certainly!"

* * *

_The next morning, in an alleyway..._

Wardes and Negi stood at a few paces' distance from each other, Negi brandishing Derflinger, holding it in a casual stance meant for beginners. He didn't seem to be tense or even nervous, all he was was loose, and if Louise admitted it, somewhat handsome. Okay, somewhat was understating it, but she wouldn't be caught dead praising a man's looks... in public.

Wardes, meanwhile, was studying his stance without much subtlety about it, holding his swordlike wand in one hand, it's tip resting against the ground and his eyes narrow and concentrated. Guiche, Montmorency and Louise were sitting by a set of barrels, all three of them focused on the sight in front of them. For some reason, Guiche had insisted in coming to watch, because that kind of show is not given every day.

"Shall we begin right away?" Asked the man in the robe and wizard hat.

"Sure, why not?" Negi asked in reply.

"Ah, being a noble is a load. I can't help but compare myself to my peers."

"I know the feeling." Negi replied, slightly lowering Derflinger for a second. "However, my duties prevent me from freely sparring with those whom I wish to. It is nice to finally get a chance for a work out." Pre-fight banter, truly the technique of the gods! Regardless of how true the words may be, because Negi knew better than anyone that it was mostly his fault that he overworked himself to the limit, the chance to fight someone who actually knew how to fight was still something he appreciated.

"I do not plan on holding back." Wardes commented.

"That is fine." Negi replied. "After all, it wouldn't be fun for me otherwise." He added, focusing on Wardes, ignoring the trembling Louise.

"Ah! I don't know who to cheer for! The dashing magic knight or my glorious master!" Guiche wailed, prompting Montmorency to just smack him to shut him up. Though she couldn't help but realize that at some point, she'd have to start calling him Master too. After all, a lengthy explanation on Apprentice/Master relations had indeed revealed that that was the correct way to refer to him if he was going to train them.

"Let's begin!"

Wardes readied his wand blade not a moment too soon. The second he got a ward on, Negi had already dashed his way. The impact of Derflinger on his weapon rattled his arms. Wardes decided that his no holding back policy better be made use of, as he darted to the right to avoid an over head slash that would've split him cleanly as it left a noticeable dent on the ground, even past where Derflinger had landed.

Negi was fighting wildly, preferring to simply utterly destroy Wardes' guard with each attack instead of dashing in for the kill as would be expected in a real fight, even though that entailed only missing one or two opportunities, even accounting the times Negi could've landed a follow up, the man simply flowed from guard to guard, no matter how many times his weapon was slapped away. Wardes was pushed back by the continued rain of blows, even if his defense showed that he was, indeed, skilled. Anyone else would've already left themselves open if only because of exhaustion.

It was clear that the bearded man was a great swordsman. Surely way bellow the prowess of someone like Setsuna, Kurt or Eishun, but powerful enough to actively challenge Negi with the style he was using. So Negi switched to something a bit more fast and frenetic. Something that he'd learned a while ago was that his massive physical strength allowed him to wield a two handed weapon like Derflinger in one hand. It made the attacks harder to control and aim, but it made them more unpredictable as Negi had to break form to execute them.

He wasn't a Shinmeiryuu, he couldn't get a dozen attacks thrown in under a second under normal circumstances, but if he allowed himself to say it, he was pretty damn fast, even with a sword as heavy as Derflinger.

"You have great technique!" Wardes commented, letting a stab from Derflinger harmlessly slide away from him by courtesy of his wand diverting the attack. Taking that chance, he stabbed at Negi's face, but the redhead merely ducked under the attack and began to spin around, holding Derflinger out.

Wardes barely had enough time to stop Derflinger from smashing through his kneecaps by leaping back. It had been Derflinger's blunt edge. Still dangerous. "You, as well!" Negi replied, looking up as he finished the swing.

The older man hit the wall behind himself with his feet and jumped off to land behind Negi, who quickly spun around and brought the sword up to easily block an incoming attack. Wardes followed into a combination, having leaped onto the offensive, but all of the attacks met Derflinger's flat side or empty air.

The rapier-like wand was, surprisingly, quite versatile, as a simple spell would give it the ability to be a cutting weapon besides the stabbing weapon it already was. Even so it was still hard for him to get past Negi's defense, let alone touch him despite the flimsy guard. After all, Negi was far more used to simply dodging than blocking, and that was what he was concentrating on, the stabs making a fine impression of a sewing machine being simply incapable of matching the speed in which Negi's body swayed from side to side.

Negi didn't back away one bit, being dangerously close to a wall already, as Wardes closed the distance between them, preventing Negi from relying on Derflinger due to it's size. With a confident smirk, the man stabbed forward once again, only to find that Negi wasn't there. His eyes widened and he ducked as he heard the unmistakable sound of a rusty edge cutting the air.

"Impressive." Both said at the same time, as they took the small reprieve to leap and put some distance between each other.

"I admit, this has been quite fun." Negi said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. And only then did Wardes notice that throughout all the fight, Negi hadn't done anything but fight with his left arm, when Derflinger was clearly a two handed weapon, except for the warm up.

"You insult me by holding back." Wardes said, frowning noticeably. "Your skill, your speed and your reaction times are all beyond what most people will ever achieve, even while holding back. I admit, you become more interesting by the minute." The magic knight stated.

"You say so, but you lied when you said you wouldn't hold back yourself." Negi said, smiling widely. "After all, you are a _Magic_ Knight, right?"

They both laughed openly. "Very well, then, I admit that I thought I could handle you with my sword alone. A great mistake."

Negi removed Derflinger's sheath from his back and sheathed the sword. "Oi, partner, what are you doing?" Asked the sword, clearly wondering what the hell was going on.

"Sorry, Derflinger, but I want to fight Mr. Wardes seriously, and while I am good with a sword, but, to quote a friend, I'm pretty damn hot at unarmed combat." With a grin on his face, Negi threw his sheathed weapon at Guiche, who caught it eagerly, still entranced by the frenetic dance that the two swordsmen had found themselves into, then turned his attention back to Wardes.

"Oh, is that so?" Wardes asked. "Wind!" Or something that sounded like that, anyway. Negi couldn't quite tell. He seemed to have been chanting.

An explosion of wind erupted from the tip of his rapier wand, as Negi had already dashed in to stop the spell before it went off, it almost caught him squarely on the face, but he jumped to the side at the last second. A spell specifically designed to be deadly in melee range, since it's area of effect made trying to dodge it by jumping away useless. Unburdened without a heavy sword and not confined to the range and limited techniques that his choice weapon provided, he was much faster and agile, Wardes realized, way too late. He could barely see Negi rush in again, and the blurs his arms were when he suddenly extended them like a pair of pistons.

Every time he and those two meteors made contact, his body felt like a freight train, not that he knew what that was, had plowed right onto him. And it had been an open palm hit. His grunt of pain was heard across the alley, but he didn't have time to dwell on it as he heard the sound of several steps way too fast to belong to a human being.

Negi, as soon as he'd been close enough again, unleashed a simple combination. Take a step forward and with the momentum punch the stomach. When the target is reeling from that hit, take another step forward, twist yourself so you mirror your previous stance and punch with the left, closing the distance that you had after the first punch.

Afterward, take advantage of the closeness to uppercut the target into the air. Follow into the air and use both arms to jackhammer him back down.

All of that, executed in less than a second. Truly a master's work.

Still, Wardes regained his footing, somersaulting so he landed on his feet. However, by the time he did, Negi was already in front of him again. He tried to stab before another flurry of attacks could come again, but Negi's hand shot to grab his wrist and yank him forward, at which point Negi crouched down and, using his legs as a spring, delivered a brutal elbow blow to Wardes' gut.

Without air to breathe, Wardes stumbled forward before dropping to his knees, his wand clattering uselessly in front of him. He spat, both his breath and saliva, before he could take another breath, coughing violently as he did. That had been monstrous. Such strength, speed and skill.

The speed was just ridiculous. The strength was tremendous. His reactions were flawless. There were no wasted movements. He hadn't used a single spell and Wardes had been incapable of even touching him. Was that the power of the Gandalfr? Was that the difference between himself and a true warrior, chosen by the legend and the void itself?

He couldn't accept being rendered so insignificant so easily, by a man that was completely unarmed! As he reached for his wand once more, Negi's strange shoe came down on his palm, making him hiss in pain, then look up at the face of his opponent. The redhead was still smiling, though it only sent further chills down the veteran's spine. Such a cruel and gleeful smile.

Growling, Wardes leaped forward to try to tackle Negi, who, almost flowing, slid out of the way and placed an elbow on Wardes' lower back as he passed by him, making him yell out in pain. A particularly weak spot of the spine had been hit that stopped his movement cold.

The Magic Knight unceremoniously crashed to the ground, though he felt his hand reach the handle of his sword wand. He began muttering a spell as Negi calmly walked in his direction. The moment he was close enough, Wardes unleashed another wind burst, quickly turning, holding himself up with one hand and pointing his wand at someone who wasn't there anymore with the other.

When Wardes turned around, Negi had a palm next to his face, a clear promise held on it. Had he continued with the attack and actually landed the hit on the back of his head, he'd be dead. Attacks with such tremendous amounts of power behind them were absolutely no joke. The feeling that he'd almost gotten his head chopped off right then and there left him with a cold sweat and the second that passed between that realization and when Wardes struck the ground in defeat seemed to last an eternity.

"It's over." Negi said, pulling his arm back. "It was fun." He said, offering the downed knight his hand.

* * *

"Our departure was delayed." Louise informed, propping her elbows against the veranda. "Lord Wardes needs time to recover from his injuries." she added, then she fell into silence.

Negi was giving his back to the beautiful sunset, his arms folded over his chest. "I... I'm sorry. I think I went a bit overboard..."

"You think?" Louise asked, glaring at him, but he only smiled sheepishly. "It was... well, it was amazing, really. So far I have only seen you using weapons or magic. That is the first time I've seen you fight with your bare hands."

"Well, I first learned to fight with my bare hands, then moved on to spears and finally moved on to swords, though I could never quite become as good a swordsman as I am with Kenpo." Negi explained, falling into thought for a few seconds.

"You get weirder every day." Louise commented, leaning forward.

"Thank you." Negi replied with an amused tone. "I have been told that weird is nice." And for all of it, Louise couldn't bring herself to disagree.

"Why are you here and not with us in the hotel?" Louise asked, returning to the sun sinking below the horizon.

"I needed time to think."

"About what?" Negi wondered if it was the trip of his exposition or something, everyone seemed hell bent on asking him questions these days. It came with the job of being a familiar summoned from an alternate dimension, but Negi didn't quite know that.

"About many things." He replied. Louise caught the cue, which was 'I don't want to tell you'. He hadn't wasted time building himself _some_ respect from her independent of his social status, so she let it go. He seemed like he really didn't want to talk about that.

Neither of them really talked much. Negi seemed lost in thought, some times muttering something that was completely impossible to understand for her. Presumably his homeland's language. The purple moon was kind of pretty. Louise didn't notice she'd unconsciously closed her distance with Negi and was now actually leaning against him.

"Hey! What are you two doing here?"

The sound of a smack could be heard across the street. "Idiot! They were having a private moment!"

"But I got bored of just watching..." Guiche pointed out, causing Negi to chuckle and Louise to blush a little while glaring at the blond fop. "Anyway, we really should get moving."

"No need. Lord Wardes needs time to recover from that beatdown." Louise said, waving their concerns off.

Montmorency seemed stuck between amused and bemused, not knowing which way to go to. On the one hand, the fact that Wardes had gotten the crap beaten out of him so easily was actually kind of hilarious. The other, meaning she'd have to stay longer in that hotel where Guiche would ogle every skirt that passed by made her want to smack the blond again. Besides, for all of the insanely painful blows that he'd taken, she assumed it was just tiredness he wanted to deal with, because he'd been healed right afterward. Maybe he was still sore.

However, as the group chatted animatedly, nobody took notice of the cloaked figure that had been approaching them.

A wave of a wand had a spike exploding from the ground like a piston. Specifically targeted towards the pink haired mage. It took Negi all of two nanoseconds to shove Louise out of the way, reminiscing for a second how his vampiric Master had done the same a very long time ago. However, instead of piercing through his stomach, the flat surface of the spike bursting from the ground tossed him away. And then he realized that the move was meant for him specifically.

Truly an unexpected move that made him sail past the veranda, and as he flied through the air, he easily recovered mid-air to find two gigantic golems raising from the ground, menacing the party. It was kind of irritating. Two more? He'd already destroyed two. Those things were already getting boring.

Except this time, Kirche and Tabitha weren't around and Guiche and Montmorency where nowhere near ready for combat. Not to this level. Negi smiled slightly. "You again?" He asked, using Shundou to get back to the ground, only to see Fouquet, atop one of the golems, let out a cascade of swearwords at her master plan failing, something about a stupidly broken mage doing things that should be impossible.

Except it was a distraction, as the moment he actually touched the ground, he found his feet sinking and becoming wrapped in the stone chiseled to make the road. The fact that the lack of balance that standing on fluid rock provided made him fall on his ass was only further fuel to the fire.

Fouquet had made the terrible mistake of ignoring Negi's allies, however. Guiche's magic seemed very useful to get Negi out of his predicament, while Montmorency tried her best to break Fouquet's focus (simply tossing streams of water at her that she'd be forced to dodge was enough to do so, she was, evidently, halfway decent with projectiles mostly due to the training she had. Negi was sure he could teach her Sagitta Magica now), and Louise tore a chunk off the Golem on auto pilot with a quick explosion.

"Don't engage in melee. Those things are tougher than bronze." Negi pointed out to Guiche, who was already glowing with the energy Montmorency sent him through their pactio.

Louise could use any spell to trigger an explosion, and teaching her the most basic spell Negi knew allowed her to rapid-fire explosions by simply casting Ardescat over and over again. The Golem she'd targetted had been locked in place, since it was busy regenerating from the chunks that were being constantly torn off.

Negi sighed. "Well... I guess simply taking the golems out won't work this time. Let me show you, Fouquet, the difference between us." With care, Negi removed Derflinger from his back. He ignored how Fouquet's golems swatted away an army of Guiche's valkyries, while the golems took the earth in the cliff's face behind them to regenerate from Louise's abuse.

He pulled the sword out of it's sheath and stabbed it to the ground. "Well, Derflinger, you wanted me to show you the power that I alone possess?" He said, grinning. "Give me a second here."

Guiche nodded, and summoned a few more valkyries to help distract the golem Fouquet was riding on, trusting Louise's ability to maintain the other golem occupied through explosions. With aid from Montmorency's power, it was easy to summon a dozen or so.

_"Duabus Emissae! Duplex Complexio! Supplementum Pro Armationem! Ταστλαπα Υπερ Ουρανου Μεγα Δυναμενε (Twin Vigour of the Thunderous Sky)!"_

Everyone felt the touch of electricity. Lightning cracked, and the next thing Fouquet knew was that she was on the ground, specifically, on her ass, perplexed at the sudden location shift. She didn't get much time to ponder her situation, as she rolled out of the way of a water whip and shot to her feet as Guiche moved to engage her in direct melee.

And then the golems were still for a second, as what looked like a streak of lightning flashed visibility for a second. Countless gales of wind appeared as Derflinger's slashes became visible, way after they had been made. And then Negi placed Derflinger over his left shoulder.

Fouquet fell to her knees, and besides her own heard three jaws hitting the ground, as the golems became dust in under a second.

"Holy shit that was fast."

It was unanimous. Even Fouquet found herself honestly impressed by the insane speed. A figure of pure lightning took several steps forward, the ground exploding with lightning after every step. Negi's figure was completely devoid of color, being bathed in white, even Derflinger seemed to be affected by that.

And then her throat was dry, she tried to focus her wand on him once more, but it was pointless, as the second she did so the wand had already been sliced in half, only the distorted color of a sword slicing the air at speeds that were completely impossible to achieve was left behind.

"There's a reason they called me the Lightning God back at home." Negi said, smiling widely. "Ah, Miss Fouquet, I would've preferred not having to use this, but if you still think you can defeat me, I will be glad to face you in a one on one fight."

"... I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"No, though you _are_ going back to the dungeon."

"Well, I'll be damned. We came all the way here to help and you were done in just one instant!"

Negi waved as Kirche dropped from the sky, sporting a far too perverted smirk. "Uh... sorry?" He offered.

"Ah, but what else could I have expected from my darling?" she seemed hesitant of touching him, however. He didn't blame her. He was sparking with lightning after all.

Tabitha looked at him questioningly for a few seconds, from atop Sylphid. The dragon had either been surprisingly stealthy in its approach or Negi simply hadn't been paying that much attention. It was most likely the latter.

However, Fouquet had enough juice to run the hell away, apparently, as she began to do just that. And then found herself facing Negi's chin. "Yeah, that's not going to work."

Fouquet growled, but surrendered, realizing just how outclassed she really was.

Louise blinked. "Zerbst?" She asked, finally getting over the shock that seeing two golems spontaneously turn to dust by her familiar's hand had brought. "Tabitha?"

A horn sounded in the distance.

* * *

"So, you're that middle aged thief?" Kirche asked, seemingly actually curious.

"Middle aged? I just hit twenty last year!" Fouquet snarled back.

"Exactly, middle aged." Kirche continued, clearly pleased with getting a rise out of the captive thief, who continued to snarl at her incoherent words that might've been insults regarding not looking like a teenager or whatever the equivalent was. The narrator apologizes for not being able to translate them.

On the flipside, it did get a nice blush out of Negi, Guiche, Montmorency, Tabitha and Louise. Apparently, it was graphic.

"And proud of it." Kirche finally replied. Fouquet was just left stupified. So was everyone else for a few seconds.

"Uhm, Kirche, not that I'm complaining, but..." Negi seemed nervous with the proximity he had to the redhead at the moment. "Why are you here?"

"I was just wondering what was going on and then I came to see myself." Kirche spoke, resting against a chair suspiciously close to Negi. Louise said nothing, just folded her arms over her nonexistent chest and glared at her. "It took me a whole day to find you!" She admitted, sitting properly. It seemed that she was distracted off his bones for the moment.

Louise was starting to reach for her wand and that could be fairly dangerous.

"As expected of you. I actually left you a note, you know." Montmorency said, shaking her head. Why was she friends with that moron again?

"I know, that is how I found you." Kirche spoke, puffing her chest proudly. Oh, right, that. It was hard not to be friends with someone who is the funny kind of moron most of the time.

"And then when I find you, you're fighting Fouquet all over again without me." She continued, pouting slightly.

Negi chuckled sheepishly. "Though it's weird that Wardes left without us, it is not entirely unexpected. As a politician, the first thing you learn is to distrust every other influential figure." Negi admitted, sighing. "Though I wished he was different, I guess."

"You were expecting it, Partner?" Derflinger asked. The sword refrained from pointing out the obvious on occasion, but today didn't seem to be such an occasion. "What do you think?"

"I knew he had his own agenda, everyone has their own agenda, though I do not know why he would want to go on alone."

"What is this mission, anyway?" Kirche asked.

Negi rubbed his chin and then pointed a finger at Fouquet. _"Nebula Hypnotica."_ And the thief was out like a light. Everyone stared at him for a second, then he cleared his throat. "Well, we were supposed to obtain a letter that the Princess had sent Prince Wales of Albion, it is a top secret mission." Negi explained. Louise sputtered something about revealing such important information to a Germanian, but Kirche just shushed her. Then, Louise considered that if Negi thought her trustworthy, then she'd trust her for the moment.

The room wasn't secure at all, but the spells to disguise conversation weren't uncommon in his world and considering that he did most often talk about secrets that would be catastrophic if made public, he'd learned to cast it every time he talked about something important, like now. Again, politicians pretty much required having these habits.

"Then, why do you think Wardes wants to accomplish it alone? Do you think it might be too dangerous for us?"

Montmorency shook her head. "If it were that, we'd be way safer with Negi here. You saw his power, we saw his skill." she said, falling into thought.

"Hn... Why would he leave us behind?"

Louise then decided to man up for the moment and then turned to Negi. "Do you think he might be a traitor to Tristain?" She asked. She didn't like implying it. For as much as Negi was better, Wardes had been the man she'd admired since she was a little girl, and she couldn't bear to see him betray the kingdom she loved so easily. It took Negi a full minute of thought to formulate an answer.

"Yes." Negi said finally. "The letter is extremely important for Tristain's alliance with Germania. If he were to deliver it to the Germanians, then the alliance would become impossible. He might have betrayed us to the rebel movement within Albion." Negi said, frowning. "But with the boat gone, we won't get there in time."

"Can't you just do that Shundou thing?" Guiche asked, folding his arms over his chest. He couldn't get it quite right himself, but Negi had proven a master at using it.

"At most, my leaps are about a kilometer's length, more if I concentrate only on leaping distance, and I can only do two at a time before I need to hit the ground again. I could fly in with my Lightning Form, but I know absolutely nothing about the country and I won't be able to find my way around."

"Next flight will be tomorrow, early in the morning. We can't do much more than wait, then..." Kirche spoke.

"I know where Wardes will be, the town we were supposed to meet Prince Wales in has an abandoned church. That is the meeting point." Louise explained. "Wardes must already know, given he is in charge of this expedition. I checked my belongings before, and I didn't want to believe it, but he must have stolen the letter I was supposed to deliver to the Prince."

"I didn't know about that part." Negi said, sighing. Maybe that had been what the princess had wanted to discuss with Louise in private when she visited her alone? It made sense. He hadn't expected the princess to trust him so easily. Still kinda hurt. "In any case, I still can't get there in time. I can fly in Lightning Form, but it's not very fast, and I need a physical target to jump to."

Tabitha looked at them, putting on a "Are you fucking kidding me?" face. It was eerie how well she resembled it. "Oh. Right. Dragon." Negi said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

* * *

"Tch."

Wardes advanced without problem, reducing the knights charging him to shreds of flesh. Wales realized, way too late, that simple knights stood no chance against the Captain of Tristain's Magic Knights. The man had earned his position through sheer badassery, after all. The swords meat and Wales was pushed away again, barely avoiding the blade that left a noticeable cut on his cheek. The razor sharp air covering it was a bit longer than the blade itself and completely invisible. A devious but effective tactic.

His wand sword was a much more useful weapon than a simple sword, as Wales found himself incapable of using his magic and having to rely on his sword skills that were not up to the bearded man's. The difference was very easy to notice.

Even trying to take advantage of the pegs to buy his knights time to regroup and strike from the back was useless, as Wardes just jumped over them, easily countered Wales' razor tornado with a flash of lightning and swung his sword faster than Wales could possibly react.

Their swords clashed time after time, but Wardes held the clear advantage and pushed Wales back until he made him crash against a wall. It was an easy victory, truth be told, as Wales, no matter how much power he had, was not an experienced warrior nor a particularly talented one. A quick stab had finally managed to slip past Wales' own weapon and into his left lung.

As Wardes pulled the sword back, Wales crashed to the ground, puking blood.

"Dammit! I'm late!" Wardes recognized that voice and flinched, his eyes widening. Seconds after that, a lightning bolt crashed against Wardes, though the man had been ready and blocked with his wand blade, though the arm he'd used to put more strength behind the block had been rendered useless and he'd been sent flying by the attack.

"Prince!" Louise cried, rushing into the abandoned church, rushing to the fallen prince.

"W-Who a-are y-you?" The blond man in knight armor said, spitting a few drops of blood with every word.

"I am Ambassador La Valliere! We will deal with this traitor!" The pinkette spoke, trying to put pressure in Wales' wound. And then the prince focused on her hand.

"P-Please, deliver this to Henrietta..." he said, taking his gauntlet off and giving her a small ring. "Tell her t-that... I'm sorry..." he said, closing her fist tightly.

"Don't talk anymore! You'll be alright! I promise!"

Wales shook his head. "I'm sorry... for making you be the bringer of bad news." He didn't spit blood anymore, but with a sad smile, his arm went limp.

"N-No! Prince Wales! Don't die on me!"

Negi was in a grim mood, as Wardes picked himself up from where he'd landed against a wall. The man seemed slightly nervous, because he was certain he wouldn't walk out of that one with ease.

Wardes once again felt a pair of meteors crash against his body time and time again, and even giving it everything he had in desperation was useless. Even unleashing all of his power in a massive lightning attack was met by Negi simply swatting it aside with Derflinger, the sword glowing as it was stricken by the magic.

However, Wardes was counting on Negi being angry and being more focused on destroying him than anything else. The abandoned church was a hideout, but not a fortress. It was a weak structure not helped by it's age, and Wardes had already been planning to bring it down if he had to.

His fight with Wales had already taken advantage of that, as he'd intentionally 'missed' several shots that had landed in the structure's weak points. He wasn't an architecture buff, but he knew that without anything to support it's weight, the chapel would fall.

Negi's obscenely powerful magic was the final nail that sealed the coffin, and goading him into using those spears of lightning he seemed to love so much had proven to be easy. He didn't even need to do it, Negi did so on his own. The last column was knocked down and the entire building trembled.

It was by abusing the confusion brought on by the falling debris that he blasted a wall open and escaped, having to duck under several spears of lightning coming his way as he fled to where his gryphon was waiting, not before helping the building burst into flames. When the majority of the ceiling came crashing down, Negi growled in anger and punched upward with a yell of _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens_, a column of lightning and wind exploding upwards.

Another failure. Another failure to his name. He couldn't protect anyone. He was a failure. What kind of hero, what kind of world saviour fails on the task of saving a single human being? Everything burned again. And the assassin was running again.

A beam fell and crashed against his back, breaking on impact, the flames licking at his longcoat, as he loomed over Louise. "We have to go. Now."

He didn't miss the fact that a single, solitary tear dropped from Louise's eye as they mounted Sylphid.

It was the second time in his life in which he wanted nothing more than to see someone dead.


	15. Impossible Is Explained

**Author's Note:  
**Sorry about the typos! I IZ BAD.

Aelreth (Anonymous Review): Glad to know you liked my fic that much.

Yeah, I know that it seemed a bit like overkill to have Negi pull out Raiten Sousou against Fouquet, but that was the whole point of it, overkilling her so much that even if she did get out again she wouldn't have the balls to stand up to him again.

Besides, I knew for a fact that she'd get out again. Leaving the hotel you're staying in as fast as fast can be tends to require dropping some cargo. In this case, thief shaped cargo.

This chapter is officially the new longest chapter I've ever written for Darkest Void. Clocking in At 7,719 words.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 15: In Which Setup For A Massacre Is Put In Place

Kneeling, pressing her fist against the ground as hard as she could and doing her best to maintain her voice level, Louise gave her report, not once lifting her gaze from the ground. She felt sick. Unworthy of being regarded so fondly by the princess she had failed to so spectacularly.

She felt disgusted with having to hand her his ring and speak his last words.

"The letter was stolen under my nose and he died in my arms." Louise said, her voice cracking as she spoke. "I must atone for my failure with my life, because it was my inability to see past Wardes' deceit that..."

However, she couldn't finish her sentence when she felt two hands in soft, silken gloves touch her trembling shoulders and steady her. "Louise Françoise... let me see your face..."

Two rivers of tears ran on each of their faces, in the princess' a smile that betrayed the sorrow she felt in her heart and Louise could do nothing but feel even worse at the sight of her face having to be dirtied with tears. It just wasn't something that could happen. Had she been worthy of the princess' trust, she'd have avoided all this.

Had she gone to her familiar the moment her suspicions arose, this could all have been avoided.

Had she admitted to herself that she was blinded by her admiration of Wardes, this could have been avoided.

"Thank you for giving me something to remember him." The princess said, hugging Louise so tightly that the pain almost registered with her. It just so happened that her heart hurt more.

"I'm sorry, princess..."

* * *

Louise hadn't seen Negi all morning. He seemed to be making himself scarce. It hurt her to know he was avoiding her. She shouldn't have said those stupid things when they were riding Sylphid back to the mainland. She had felt so lonely, so crushed, so utterly bad that she'd sought comfort.

She hadn't only said stupid things. She'd done stupid things. She'd done something that her family would never forgive her for.

But... strangely enough, it was his avoiding her that hurt more. It was the lack of his warmth when she slept that had made her curse that night thrice fold, and it was the lack of his presence when she walked the halls that made her feel unsafe. It didn't help that she'd been awakened to the fact that even the most seemingly stalwart sometimes fall.

It had made her question her own loyalties.

However, she found herself clear as water, her body solid as steel as she walked into Old Osmond's office. The man waved Colbert off, who had said something about a village named Tarbes, and truth be told she couldn't care less about where he ran off to at the moment.

"I came to give my report." She justified, as Colbert ran past her.

"Well, truth be told, I am not expecting much." Osmond said, rubbing his beard. "But I'd like to hear it from your own mouth."

The urge to punch him was rising. The man didn't seem like he had actually tried to insult her and lord knows Old Osmond has a way about pissing people off. A lengthy explanation of the operation on the church had followed.

"So... It is as I feared. Reconquista made it's move and it was a tremendous success." Osmond said, clasping his hands together.

"Reconquista?" Louise asked, tilting her head to the side.

"It is the group currently pulling the strings behind the rebellion in Albion." Osmond explained, unclasping his hands so that he could grab his pipe. "Well, I recommend that you get some rest."

Louise nodded and began to turn away, however, then Old Osmond cleared his throat, and it sealed her to the spot. It seemed he had the resolve to tell her about something, but what could it possibly be that he'd doubted just saying straight out? She feared he'd decided to scold her for her titanic failure.

"Valliere..." He began, taking a deep breath. "What do you know about the Void?" The man asked, instantly losing the appearance of a jovial old man and shifting into professional mode.

"The Legendary power that the Founder used?" Louise asked, her voice seemingly hesitant. Osmond nodded as a signal for her to continue. "That has been lost for six thousand years."

"Until your birth. You summoned the Gandalfr, Miss Valliere. Your familiar is the legendary warrior who could confront entire armies on his lonesome. You are the heir to the power of the Void." Osmond explained, and Louise didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, she still had lingering depression, on the other, she was a living legend.

Osmond didn't elaborate, though she was left wondering why the old man would try to cheer her up by telling her that. Maybe he wasn't as uncaring as he seemed at times.

* * *

Negi seemed particularly brutal that morning, and Guiche could sorta figure out why. The intensity was increased to a level that he could hardly imagine, let alone keep up with. Only for the sake of getting him up to par as fast as possible. Negi knew what was brewing. Even the blond could tell at this point.

Guiche, somewhat exhausted, with dirty clothes and one or two cuts visible under them, was in awe, as the air screamed behind every one of his blows. Countless slashes and barehanded attacks were rapidly connected, gales of wind erupting from his hands and Derflinger following each attack, every once in a while sparks of lightning following a particularly wide, sharp or fast slice.

In the distance, the blond could see one of the courtyard's walls exploding in dust following the larger gales of wind, and sometimes he could make out the distinct image of what had to be more than a thousand cuts and small craters in the wall.

That was the true level that Negi Springfield fought at. His anger didn't cloud his judgment as much as it simply changed his priorities from protection to simply destroying his target. He gasped as Negi took a step forward and ended his berserk fury with one upward slash, pulled with both hands, that was completely invisible. Not even a gale of razor wind followed, nor an afterimage.

The sound of an explosion was heard against a wall, where a huge gash had eclipsed every other cut rather easily.

"That was a bit off to the left, Partner." Derflinger pointed out. "But otherwise, impressive, you got that in a few minutes."

Negi let out the breath he'd been holding. "Yes. I delayed an instant more than I should have." He admitted. "... By the way, I suddenly think that training here was a terrible choice." Negi admitted, nodding to himself.

"Ah? Why for?" Guiche asked, his trance at the sight of such superb speed broken.

"Because I don't own those walls I just cut up..." He admitted, rubbing the back of his head and looking positively sheepish.

"That was amazing!" It didn't take long for Negi to notice that the maid that had glomped him was not, in fact, wearing her uniform. And that she could get some impressive speed with a pair of flat shoes.

He would file the fact that she looked good in casual clothes for later referral. "Hi, Siesta!" Negi said, smiling at the maid.

Guiche, off to one side, began taking notes. However, he stopped when Negi's expression soured for two fractions of a second. "Uhm... Why the suitcase?" Negi asked, somewhat surprised. It seemed surprisingly little to be all of her possessions, but he was certain that was it.

"Ah, I came to say goodbye. I was given some free time, so I will go home for the time being."

"That's nice." Negi said, nodding at her. "Please, give my regards to your family." And when he mentioned family, he remembered something important. Hadn't Siesta told him once that one of her ancestors might have come from his world? It was, therefore, his task to ask away. Maybe he'd find a clue or two about the possibility that he might find a way to return to his world.

Though he didn't expect a tale spun about a dragon rider. He assumed that, as it was passed down, it was embellished to be more interesting to the next generation. Made sense. He'd have to, at some point, find out what was actually true about her tale.

He had his suspicions about the nature of the dragon she was talking about. If he correlated it correctly with Colbert's own account of the dragons' fight, then it was a very clear possibility that it could be an artifact from his home world.

Wouldn't be too far fetched. These people mistook purely mechanical implements such as a rocket launcher for something magical, and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think they'd confuse an airplane for a dragon. If it had been indeed oil what Colbert had, then it'd seal his suspicions. Rather, not quite oil, but rather fuel.

There was only one real obstacle with this avenue of investigation, though he could very easily get past that one if it came down to it.

"Kirche, Tabitha, you really aren't even bothering to hide your presences." Negi pointed out, standing up from the spot he'd chosen to sit in as Siesta began her tale.

"Ah, Darling, we were just about to go treasure hunting ourselves!" the voluptuous Germanian began, the movement of shooting up from the bush she'd chosen to give in making her chest wave in wonderful motions.

"I need to inform Louise. Siesta, would you give me an hour?" Negi asked. "I wish to accompany you to your home." he said, straightening up.

The maid seemed rather pleased with that turn of events and easily nodded in acceptance.

* * *

Louise was surprised that her familiar would ask for permission to leave. It was a nice surprise, however, to know that through everything he was still most decidedly loyal.

Montmorency opted out, arguing that she was already tired as it was, and Negi's training that early morning had finished whatever she had left of energy.

And of course, Colbert just happened to overheard them. And so, a trip to Tarbes was organized. It seemed that the teacher already knew where the general area of the cave was, but after an embarrassing encounter with Siesta's parents (Who seemed strangely okay with the idea of marrying their daughter off to Negi, even despite believing him a noble), they were well on their way.

So, using Flame as a lantern, they made their way through the cave complex described in Siesta's map.

Many idiotic things happened along the way, and those will be the things I will focus on in this recount.

Soon after actually arriving at the cave's entrance, Negi sneezed. This wouldn't have been a problem, except the girls were all wearing skirts. Guiche got slapped for being a pervert. Colbert was left wondering where that strange wind had come from and Tabitha looked at Negi, who whistled innocently the whole way. "Pervert." Was all she said.

It kind of stung.

Not too long after that, _Flame_ sneezed, which was more of a problem than it sounds like as it set part of the path on fire. Tabitha was used as a garden hose accordingly.

Colbert began acting like a tour guide, but forgot he didn't know jack shit about the area he was explaining, so he ended up actually asking Siesta for assistance several times as he talked about the cave. It was kind of funny.

There was that whole incident when Louise accidentally ended face first on Kirche's cleavage, but it isn't too interesting so I'll skip it. I will, however, point out that Siesta made several lewd comments upon the sight that had Negi blushing. It never did get old to see him do so, Siesta had to admit, even if it became progressively harder every time she tried to do it.

It seemed that the same trick didn't work twice for him. She'd have to amp up the stakes soon, and she wasn't sure if she herself was ready for that.

And then we get to the interesting part. When Siesta mentioned that there was a chance that orcs inhabited the caves.

"Orcs?" Negi asked, tilting his head. He'd never seen one before.

"Ah, why didn't you say so before?" Kirche asked, very obviously put off by the mention of the savage race.

Tabitha looked at her, seemingly annoyed that she had to lift her gaze from the book to talk. "Irrelevant." She said.

"You knew too, Tabitha? This is treason I tell you!" Kirche complained, folding her hands over her plentiful chest.

Negi chuckled lightly as she displayed her own irrational fear. He'd seen her fight, she could probably roast a few dozens before they got to her.

It was unexpected to end the cave crawling one the other side of the mountain, or at least what looked like it. It seemed to be a valley hidden between the mountains.

With a rather large, covered in mold and still recognizable hangar. "I knew it!" Negi said, cheering for himself.

"It should be here. The Dragon's Raiment." Colbert said, approaching the rather large doors of the hangar. Negi wondered what kind of plane it could be, since it couldn't possibly be a modern plane if it had belonged to Siesta's Great Grandfather.

Most of the band crowded around the balding teacher as he got to work on opening the lock through liberal application of magic. However, Tabitha wandered off to a rather specific spot that had a large stone on it, followed by Negi.

It didn't take Negi long to notice that she was concentrating on the symbols engraved in the rock. With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind sliced the moss clinging to it apart and tore it off the rock. A fairly controlled application of Exarmatio. The sound of the wind slicing through the air had Louise rushing there as well.

"Hn... Here lies Sasaki Takeo, sleeping forever in this land."

A grave marker. It wasn't much of a stretch to think a pilot would want to be buried close to his plane if it was the last reminder of his world.

"You can read that?" Louise asked, paying full attention to the characters on the rock. They didn't seem to make any sort of literary sense at first glance. Then again, Negi some times spoke about knowing several languages, and most of them were fairly complicated.

"Yes. It is Japanese." Negi said, rubbing his chin. "A language from my world."

"Really?" The pinkette asked, snapping her head to look at him.

Negi nodded.

"Ah, there it is!"

Guiche's yell had Negi ignoring the grave to calmly walk back towards the hangar, but it took a few seconds for Louise and Tabitha to give a chase. He made longer strides, being taller than them both.

"Ah, I've never seen anything like this." Kirche spoke, mystified by the utterly alien Dragon's Raiment.

Negi was already certain that it had to be a plane. It wasn't much of a surprise. The hangar, the stories and its fuel all pointed to that result. It was, however, a surprise to see a Zero fighter. "Hn... I wonder if..."

He ignored everyone's stares of wonder, simply walking forward and then placing a hand on one of its wings. The runes in his hand began to glow. "I guess I can use this, as well."

"I did say that anything that was designed to be used as a weapon would activate the effect, Partner." Derflinger first spoke since the trip began.

"This broadens the scope of this ability... I wonder what its limits could be..." Negi wondered, ignoring the curious gazes his companions were giving him.

"So, it really was here..." Siesta stated, approaching Negi since he seemed to know what it was.

"Well, now it's confirmed. Your ancestry dates back to a specific country of my world, called Japan, Siesta. I guess that is why you have black hair unlike everyone else. Most Japanese have black hair." The redhead explained. "I guess this means we are more similar than I thought." He added, chuckling lightly.

Siesta blushed. It was just like him to make the idea of them being from the same world far more appealing than it should be.

"Negi! This means you might be capable of returning to your world!" Colbert spoke, suddenly snapping his head in Negi's direction.

Louise barely had time to let it sink.

"When the two dragons appeared, one disappeared into the solar eclipse. Then this is the one that couldn't return."

"My Great Grandfather used to say that he flew through the sky until the other Raiment vanished, and only then he landed." Siesta explained, remembering a bit that she had omitted from her earlier tale.

"I think it was because of poor timing." Colbert explained. "One of the dragons could make it through the eclipse, but the other was too slow and couldn't make it." he theorized, taking a step in his direction and emphasizing his realization. "This means that if you can fly this through the Solar Eclipse you might get back home."

They were supposed to be happy about it, weren't they? Yet the atmosphere wasn't particularly cheerful, even if Negi seemed to be in thought.

"... Wait, what?" Negi asked, frowning. "Reaching a solar eclipse is completely impossible with this kind of plane." He said, frowning slightly. The sun itself is at more or less one hundred and fifty million kilometers from our current location." He said, sighing noticeably. "And even if it is only one of the moons, well, I don't think they are any closer than Luna is to Earth, and that is about, give or take a few thousand, three hundred and eighty thousand kilometers from where we are right now."

Colbert was stunned. Such insanely important information that he knew so freely? He knew that the civilization that Negi belonged to was technologically far past anything he'd ever seen in Halkeginia, at least if his own descriptions of their technology were correct, but to know that much? It was madness. "How do you know that?" Guiche asked.

"Well, I am the director of an organization known as the International Solar System Development Agency, an agency created to colonize and terraform the planets in our Solar System. Explaining the whole thing would take me a month, perhaps more. Our technology allowed us to gain a far deeper understanding of how the universe works than we could get through magic. This is an airplane that is quite outdated, about seventy years."

More and more absurdity piled on top of what was already given. Every time they thought they knew Negi Springfield and had a rough understanding of the world he came from, he pulled a fast one and raised the bar a few thousand kilometers higher.

"To give you an idea, this airplane can reach a speed of 560 Kilometers per hour, whereas modern airplanes can easily break the barrier of sound by going more than twice that speed, and spacecraft tend to go about forty times as fast as modern aircraft, meaning that they travel at around forty thousand kilometers per hour. They need to go that fast to leave the planet, actually."

Colbert had produced a notebook from outta nowhere and was already busy writing down all the information provided by Negi. "How is traveling at those speeds even possible?"

"Well... I'm not really knowledgeable about the mechanics of a Space Shuttle, but I can tell you that it took several decades of research to get to such a level and even then the shuttles aren't enough to travel across space efficiently, since they require great amounts of fuel to do so. However, combining magic and technology has made that problem moot, specially Gravity Magic."

The lecture continued all throughout the journey back to the academy, as Negi and Colbert lost themselves by discussing the particularities of Negi's world. Even Guiche seemed to join in when discussion regarding super hard alloys and metals that Guiche could manipulate began.

Louise was, however, finding herself calm at the thought that reaching a solar eclipse with that plane was impossible. She didn't know why, but the mere idea of him being gone forever was enough to remind her that she really, really didn't want to lose her familiar.

"Hey, Louise, you've been awfully quiet... Is something bothering you?" Kirche asked, for the first time since the pinkette had ever met her not a trace of flirtation in her voice.

"...No." Louise replied, shaking her head. "Nothing at all."

"You know you can't fool anyone with that smile, don't you?" Kirche asked, sighing. "Well, if you don't want to tell me, it's okay, I guess."

Louise wouldn't ever admit that the Zerbst was right. Not while she drew breath. At least not in public.

* * *

Two commotions greeted them when they got back to the academy pulling the Zero.

One of them was regarding the Zero Fighter itself. The other was regarding the huge chunk that something or someone had torn off a wall. Colbert seemed just as puzzled as everyone else, while Negi looked everywhere but at the wall. Countless first years and a couple of second year students found themselves drawn to the spectacle it provided.

Mostly females who weren't precisely looking at the plane, but let's not get into that.

"Hah. I was sure you'd get lost on the mountains." Osmond said, using his staff as a walking stick, taking a step forward and digging into his robe. Once he fished several golden coins, he slapped them in Colbert's waiting hand.

"It's mostly thanks to the descendant of the man who brought it to this world in the first place." Colbert stated, a grin on his face as he pocketed the given money.

Negi approached Colbert. "Like I told you, it requires fuel to run." he said, causing the balding teacher to frown. After all, they had been discussing the basics of aviation in their trip, and it was indeed very complicated, not something that one could grasp in one afternoon.

Seems that it would indeed take a whole month.

Colbert was troubled as to whether or not it was a good idea at all. Sure, as Negi described it it was some kind of flying weapon, but he couldn't know if it was a powerful weapon. "I don't know if I could create that much." He admitted.

"... It doesn't require anywhere near as much fuel as a rocket propelled ship. And the fuel kinds they use are different anyway." Negi admitted, ignoring how Osmond seemed to be darting his eyes back and forth. Somewhat lost in the exchange. "If you want to have a comparison, it carries two weapons which should be capable of shredding plate armor with ease."

It only made him tremble if that thing really was as outdated as he thought it was. To think that they'd created... how had Negi called them? Weapons Of Mass Destruction? Those were truly frightening shows of the power of SCIENCE!

"Though I couldn't see you needing that kind of weapon." Colbert admitted. "Even if I haven't born witness to it, tales of your power are quite common."

Negi shrugged. "Well... The bullets travel slower than my top speed and they can't cause destruction on the same scale that my more powerful spells can. However, this is a weak weapon, all things considered. It could be a nice museum piece, though."

And he talked about those kinds of power outputs so casually it might as well have been any common Tuesday to him. Old Osmond had resigned himself to being out of the conversation while making a mental note to ask Colbert for clarifications later.

It was then that Louise found herself wondering what was so special about finding an artifact from his world. Sure, it presented one theory of a way he could get back to his world, a theory that he ended up denouncing as physically impossible due to sheer distance alone.

Though... she admitted he did look kind of happy with it... No. She was used enough to his expressions to know that it was him merely pretending not to be affected. She just wished she could sit down and have a chat with him, force him to if she needed to.

And of course, all she had to do was order him to her room. Then she'd vomit her problems to him, and he'd do the same for her, and they'd be even. Hah, as if she could fool herself. With as much as she owed him, she would never be able to even the score.

However, a certain set of news, by the hands of an annoying blond, caught her first as she noticed Guiche was riding frantically. Not a common sight unless he was scared shitless and there was no reason to be scared like that right now. Besides, he'd been working on getting that habit punched out.

So she decided that paying attention to that was more important for the time being. She'd stuff her need to talk down her own throat for the moment. "Louise!" Guiche yelled. "Albion was just taken by Reconquista and they declared war on Tristain!"

"Oh." Louise said, at first not letting it fully sink in. Then she amended. "Dammit." she added, as Guiche continued to ride. She wanted to explode something so bad right now.

* * *

_Somewhere Else, a while ago..._

"How did you get free?" Wardes asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well, since they didn't have time to carry me, they just left me chained in the hotel. For twelve hours, I could do nothing but struggle against my bonds. It was humiliating to have to convince the staff it was a kink gone wrong and that I was the victim of my date trying to rob me." Fouquet answered, clearly pissed off about it. "They thought I should've been glad I wasn't raped. Bah."

Wardes limited himself to openly laughing his ass off.

"Damn things were tough as all hell. When did the Gramont kid learn so much?"

Not too long afterward, they found themselves standing in a blond man in green's war room.

"All of the nobles and peasants have declared their loyalty towards you. That ring truly is something else." Wardes commented, as he tried his best to stand proud despite being a walking mummy under his cloak. His voice came out raspy, a clear sign that even despite the healers doing their best it would still be a long time before he fully recovered from the second ass kicking he'd endured. It was clear that Negi had tried his darnedest to nonlethally cripple Wardes and had almost succeeded.

"Indeed it was worth it to steal this from the Water Elemental, as complicated as it was." The man with the ugly face and hairstyle, seriously are you f*cking serious with that 'do? I can't take you seriously as a villain, man.

"But there is still an obstacle." Fouquet pointed out, glaring at Wardes from the corner of her eyes.

"Yes. We must put every inch of this continent under my control." The man with the ridiculous hair that somewhat resembles a very bad wig said. "The next step is to conquer Tristain."

"Then there is a much bigger problem." Wardes stated. "I am almost entirely certain that Louise is a Void Mage and that her familiar, the Gandalfr, is extremely powerful. Even at my best I could not stand up to him."

Fouquet looked at him for two seconds, then smirked slightly. The blond man, however, couldn't do much more than stare perplexed at Wardes.

"I suppose we will have to overwhelm him with sheer numbers then. Not even he could stand up to an entire wing of Dragons." Wardes stated confidently.

Fouquet's smile widened, but she said nothing.

"Hn... When will we be close enough to deploy a full scale assault?" Wow, from isometric perspective he kind of looks like Grima Wormtongue. Is there any doubt this guy is evil? If his eyes were any more evilly slanted we could blind him with dental floss.

"In three days." The green haired thief answered. "In the day of the solar eclipse."

* * *

"Negi. How do you feel?" Louise didn't know why she was wondering such a thing. It really didn't make sense for her to suddenly break the ice with something like that.

"I'm fine, Master." Negi said, smiling reassuringly. "However, I am worried about you. I apologize for being gone this morning, Master, but I need to step up my own training. I have noticed that I really have slipped too much and grown soft."

Louise shook her head. "What are you saying? You are already powerful! It was my weakness that caused us to fail..." She didn't mean weakness of magic, she no longer doubted her own power. It was a weakness of character that she blamed, for not having voiced her suspicions earlier on.

"No, Master. I was the one who failed. You did everything that could have been expected of you. I am a veteran warrior and a politician. I should have seen his treason coming and I should have been capable of reducing him within seconds of engaging. But I let him run away because I couldn't decide whether to chase him or help you."

Louise seemed somewhat stunned that he'd so freely take the blame for the failure. He did have a compelling argument, but it did nothing to assuage the guilt she felt over her own short comings. After all, Negi was someone unrelated to all the problems of Halkeginia. He was an outsider. "B-But..."

Negi sighed. "I should have prioritized your own safety instead of engaging Wardes instantly. And even when he was escaping, I used an attack that only further weakened the structure because I was mad that I had been outplayed." the Magister said, sitting on the bed next to Louise. "I know that you think that you failed and it's all your fault. Don't try to smile and pretend everything is okay, Master, I am a master of that tactic and believe me, it never works to hide your pain from your friends."

Louise couldn't even get a word in, even a protest as he sat next to her on her bed, awfully close. He did however take some time to take a breath. Even her nod at him pointing out the futility of trying to hide the pain, since she could see past his smiles as well, had been somewhat delayed.

"I won't tell you not to blame yourself, even if you couldn't have done anything about it. If I were in your position, and I was, I would be beating myself up, too. But a close friend once taught me that even after we trip and fall facefirst in the mud, we've still got to stand up and keep walking, covered in mud." The metaphor Evangeline had used wasn't the exact same and it was probably a different meaning, but it still applied.

She didn't even ask if that was one of his lovers, it most likely was. "To stand up and walk, not forgetting the stains, but remembering them and promising yourself never to trip on the same rock again." Louise summarized, getting a satisfied nod from Negi.

Yeah. It wasn't a bad philosophy. It seemed that her familiar had masochistic tendencies, if his answer to pain and suffering was to take it, smile and give the other cheek. Little by little, she could discover the mental puzzle that was Negi Springfield.

At times he appeared inhumanly determined, keeping a smile on even through all of the torture she'd subjected him to when she had first summoned him. At other times he appeared a pillar of strength, a pillar she could lean on whenever she felt herself waver.

A kind, learned man who enjoyed a good read, a massively powerful mage knight that could very possibly be some kind of overpowered monstrosity. A nice guy, overall.

She had only seen him appear fragile one time. Only once had she seen the façade that her familiar built crash away and reveal the pain that flowed below. A pain he truly made no secret of, when she asked. However, the pain didn't drive him down, didn't hold him still.

Rather, the pain was a part of himself, an undeniable factor in being who he was. It was a part of his philosophy, after all.

He stored his pride where no one could doubt he had it. And so he went, never losing his objective, asking for two when he wants three. "I'm alright now."

Order had been placed in chaos and the voice of guilt had left her for the moment. She didn't want to slip again like that. She didn't want him to lie and turn his back on her. But he wouldn't do that. He took in stride far more than he should. He really was the ideal man.

A long night not too long ago, she had asked him not to leave her, not to let her out of his embrace. And then she had stupidly kissed him, to which he reacted in shock. She hadn't been thinking clearly then. She had just wanted someone, anyone to pay attention to her.

This time, thinking very clearly, she jumped, wrapped her arms around his neck and with surprising accuracy tackled him into a kiss.

* * *

One Hundred Repetitions.

The world burned.

His breath stopped.

The world burns and his breath stops. And then she sees her eyes as she silently begs him for help, as she suffers all the pain that she didn't deserve. She suffers in his place.

And he cries, because he can't help her. He cries because there is nothing he can do.

He cries because he knows that it's his fault, because for all of his power, there is nothing he can do.

And it is all his fault.

Louise woke with a start, only to feel herself gripped tightly by the arms of her familiar. From her vantage point, she can see the marks glowing everywhere in his body, completely different from the familiar runes. Ignoring the questions in her brain about the strange dream she merely returned the hug.

For all the strength he appeared to have, she took it upon herself to be there when he faltered, helping him up as she could.

* * *

**Omake: Inspired **

Back at the academy, Louise found herself hating the assembly, as most people washed their hands off the war, some calling it a terrible choice, speaking about their inability to win. Cowards. All of them.

The murmuring continued until well past the point when Louise felt the need to announce the fact that she was joining the war effort out loud. She hadn't even really thought about it, since to her, defending her country was pretty much a given. That was her task as a noble, wasn't it?

Her peers didn't seem to think so.

"Come on, is nobody going to step up to defend your country?" Guiche stated, somewhat clear annoyance and anger in his voice.

"Are you?" Montmorency asked, truly curious. The blonde had scooted closer to Guiche as he declared that, feeling the crowd suddenly shift to focus on them.

"Of course!" Guiche yelled, catching everyone's ears. "Mr. Osmond, can I say a few words?" Guiche asked, once he'd grown fed up with his fellow Tristainians' attitudes.

"Guiche?" Montmorency asked in a clear 'The heck are you doing you dumbass?' tone.

"Speak." Osmond commanded, clear interest in his voice.

The blond had a clear idea on what he wanted to say as he stepped up. He ignored a few jeers about his being a glory hound and a coward who talked big but had no bite whatsoever... And enforcing his will, the few calls from the women who found him insanely sexy as he stood proud, in a stance copied from Negi, if a bit less dignified due to the height difference.

"Some of you may be thinking 'Well, he's Guiche, he just wants to claim all the glory for himself', and until a while ago, you would have been right. Because I used to think the world revolved around my navel."

"Well, atleast you admit it." someone pointed out.

"Though it hurts to admit that, I also know that I am not a great warrior, nor a great mage. Hell, I'm not even good with offensive magic at all and I am a beginner with a sword. I am not confident about my chances in an all out conflict."

"Then why do you join the army, you moron?"

"Let me ask you a question. Will you fight and face death, or will you run and live?" Guiche asked, his eyes narrowing as the obvious answer was shouted by most people at once.

Most were along the lines of "what the hell kind of speech is that?"

"Shame on you. This could be the greatest day of our lives and you will let it be our worst? And I guarantee that you will regret letting them walk through our country and do as they please! You can fight, or go home. Well... I'm not going home."

That much had been obvious, though there were respectably less jeers and shouted replies in the crowd, as people seemed to begin paying attention to him. "Some think this is a lost cause. Well, I'm gonna stay right here and FIGHT for this lost cause. A day may come when our courage fails. But it will not be today! It will not be tomorrow! And it will not be any time soon!"

Some people were actually cheering as he finished that part, and he waited until the murmurs calmed down before he continued. "It won't be easy. We will have to work harder than we have ever worked before. But we will have to grit our teeth, because otherwise we would fail our nation! Failure is NOT an option!" The mood seemed to be improving, and Guiche secretly commended himself on his speechcraft.

"Believe me when I say, we can stop Reconquista here!" A great part of the crowd began cheering when he yelled that. Even the teachers, often guilty of cowardice, found themselves silently cheering for Guiche.

"And I will say to you what every soldier knows. If you want to be free men, then you must FIGHT to fulfill that goal! They will know what we, what the country of Tristain can do!" The crowd exploded in a cheer. "Let no man forget the power we possess! This is our time, we have to seize the day, never surrender!"

Again, the cheers exploded. An unanimous word was a deafening roar, as the sounds of clapping could be heard. "They will know our name is Tristain when they come into the battlefield and meet not an army, but the entire country itself! Who's with me?" Everyone yelled the same word at once.

* * *

**Extra**: Introspect into the mind of the bringer of catastrophe.

Tuvo como profesor a un diablo bien pirata que le enseño que en la vida no todo es ganar. El lo aprendio, lo mastico y por fin supo llorar.

Tuvo como profesor a sus angeles de la guarda que le enseñaron que un fracaso no siempre es perder. El lo aprendio, lo mastico y por fin supo reir.

Y hoy el diablo y aquellos angeles ven al pequeño saltamontes romper paredes con el craneo una vez mas. Van a brindar por lo que fue su mayor creacion de integridad.

* * *

Se le apreto el estomago, puso todo al limite y ya no supo como frenar. La luz de la luna se apago, no se pudo aguantar ese tango y la dama de negro no lo quizo amparar.

El tuvo que tomar ese atajo al infierno donde todo es mas gris donde todo es invierno. No supo pararse en esa linea que separa la vida entre locura y realidad.

**Failure is not an option.**

**Retreat is not an option.**

**We walk forward.**

Ya no habia mas flores que crecieran en sus primaveras, no sentiria mas el calor de ninguna pollera. Ya no habia cuota de amor para el, ni piedra que pudiera cambiar el destino. Por eso es que el apago ese blues sembrando una cruz sin rosas.

Es por eso que el pidio la pala para cavar su fosa en ese bosque.

¿Porque tomaste ese atajo al infierno?

* * *

_"¿Quien te ha visto y quien te ve?" Piensa un chabon frente al espejo acuatico examinandose. Se acaba de levantar, tiene el pelo amotinado y los ojos para atras. La resaca lo vigila desde el espacio rojo vacio._

_Adivina adivinador, quien hizo kilombo anoche, de quien es ese olor. ¿Por que hay tanta carne __suelta, por que esta todo de color rojo? ¿Y este olor a cenizero de donde mierda salio?_

_Media vuelta rapidito y la mano a la corteza, va a escupir un real embido y es mejor tenerse en pie. Ahora hay que encontrar la espada, la que ayer dejo caer. La muy turra esta escondida clavada hasta el mango. Si hay un Dios ya esta muerto y si hay un Cristo murio en vano._

_No te quemes la cabeza por un poco de placer.  
_

_El chabon se queda solo pero mal acompañado. La resaca y la fisura le pellizcan el costado, y el bardero ese del charco no para hasta encabronarlo. "Tanta cara de boludo te estas pareciendo a mi, si no fueras un reflejo diria que estoy ahi. No te aguanto la mirada, no estoy para discutir."_

_Por mas agua que le tira, no lo puede hacer rajar. Un tambor en las entrañas no para de repicar._

_Y pediste una pala para cavar to fosa en ese bosque donde siempre te encontrare._

* * *

_Sooooo_ sorry if you can't read spanish, but I can't translate the last bit and have it make sense, since it requires me abusing parts of the Argentine dialect. It's a pretty big spoiler if you can actually understand it.


	16. Am I Doing The Right Thing?

**Author's Note..?  
**Bad news, maybe, if you like the story, anyway. I recently bought a PS3. You're lucky that the console's price limits me from buying mehself some games to lose most of my time with. As it is, I only have Ultimate Tenkaichi right now, which you all should cheer for, because if I'd gotten Disgaea 4 or Hyperdimension Neptunia like I originally wanted to, THEN the update rate would've been shot to hell and I'd probably have gone on Hiatus until I got my first character to Max Level.

But chances are the update rate will suffer anyway, since I do need most of a day to write a chapter, at least until I'm done with Hero Mode.

As always, thank you everyone for the reviews.

Saint zero (Anonymous Review): ... Uhm... What? I can't understand what you were trying to say at all.

SeanHicks4: It's a nightmare. Negi's had a few of those so far.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 16: Enlist

Louise was stunned. Guiche's speech last night had been rather... impressive. Apparently, Negi had had little to do with it, other than giving Guiche the inspiration to be a badass about it.

And now she knew where exactly it had come from. She'd only seen them training once, but it was absolutely NOTHING compared to what she saw. It seemed her peers did agree with this, as everyone seemed entranced by the violence unfolding.

"Go!"

Negi dashed past fourteen strange waterlike beams that had erupted from the tip of Montmorency's wand, somehow managing to twist his body in just the way that would allow him to evade every single one of them without problem.

Guiche's sword came within a split hair distance from his throat, but Negi still dodged perfectly, taking the chance to unleash a beatdown upon Guiche with his bare hands that had the blond boy whimpering in the ground within seconds. It was brutal to see. However, before Guiche had a chance to dwell in his pain, he had to jump back to cover Montmorency, who had to jump back to dodge an attack that had gouged a crater on the ground.

If that had hit, Montmorency would've been little more than red paste on the ground. Negi was not holding back on sheer strength. That made Louise shiver and worry for Guiche's safety... only to see that on every spot where Negi had hit there were several crocks cracking and falling. Had he reacted in time to block the hits with those things?

Guiche coming up with that kind of armor was actually sort of impressive. No less impressive was Montmorency actually unleashing nineteen more arrows from above, all of which actually landed where Negi was standing. However, he was already gone by the time they hit the ground, standing behind Montmorency.

Before Negi could strike, however, Guiche threw quite a few dagger shaped pieces of rock that became metal mid flight. However, before they could hit Negi, he snatched them out of the air, only to toss them back. Only one managed to scratch Guiche before dispersing into nothingness.

It seemed that such a small distraction was enough for the still airborne Montmorency to twist around and unleash a water tornado on Negi. It was amazing to see how much they had progressed in so little time. Granted with training sessions as brutal as these, it was a given. It only made her further wish she had had the courage to ask him to train her like he trained them.

Negi put a hand forward and the water tornado was stopped short, though it did finish interrupting his attack.

"Sis Mea Pars!" Montmorency shouted, and a glowing aura surrounded Guiche, who proceeded to jump into the air at truly ridiculous speeds, slashing for Negi's throat. The redhead man slapped the blade away and unleashed another beatdown on Guiche, and it was clear that despite his blocking capacity they were utterly destroying him.

Negi and Guiche finally fell to the ground, the blond landing with a thud close to Montmorency.

The redhead dashed forward and caught Montmorency in a headlock before she had the chance to do anything, too busy trying to catch her breath. Then he simply let go and took several steps back.

"... Not bad." Negi said. "Though nowhere near close to fifteen minutes." He said, pulling out Derflinger. "How did they do?" he asked.

"Forty three seconds." Derflinger spoke. "Not bad, all in all." the sword evaluated. "Though their power is lacking, it seems that their reaction times and instincts are getting better."

"Well, there you go. Your record so far is one minute and a half. You get ten minutes before we go again."

Montmorency collapsed to the ground, and Guiche seemed to take the cue to begin trying to control his breath.

It gave Louise a chance to actually talk to Negi, who still hadn't broken a sweat, despite this being the third round. His coat had a few holes and cuts in it, but that was the extent of it's damage. It wasn't even wet.

"Louise... You aren't ready." Negi said, his voice cold. "However, since that won't stop you..." he grinned, and his voice suddenly became utterly terrifying. "So far, Louise, I've taught you two spells." Negi said, rubbing his chin.

Louise nodded. "Yes, Ardescat and the other one I can't use for some reason... how did you call it?"

"Sagitta Magica. It's because you need to tie them to an element and it seems that your lack of an affinity for any of them isn't helping this matter." He said, sighing. "In any case, it's more of a double edged sword than a real flaw. On the one hand, you have no strengths with any element, on the other one, with enough practice you should be able to use them all." The mage explained.

Kirche, emerging from the crowd, raised an eyebrow. "But it's Louise the Zero, no offense."

"None taken." Louise said, her face deadpan.

"It seems that you need an affinity to use a Halkeginian spell. My spells can be used by practically anyone that has the power." Negi said, smiling noticeably. "Louise, the spell I will teach you now is one of the mid-end combat spells in the lightning system. It is called _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens_, and took me quite some time to master."

The pinkette nodded.

"I had thought about teaching you a weaker spell, but someone with as much power as yourself would find it very difficult to concentrate it in the proper shape required to use that. So I will go for something that has no upper limit on how much power you can use on it. Try your best, okay?"

"Yes!" Louise replied, feeling herself grin. She was so excited it didn't even begin to register on her that if she failed, she'd be failing in front of the crowd that had gathered to watch the training session.

"When you speak the incantation, you must guide the energy in your body into your wand and go with the flow. The incantation should do the rest. In essence, our magic systems aren't too different, but mine requires very precise control of the elements. It will probably be very weak at first, but as you get more used to my kind of magic in general we can work on increasing its power."

Louise pointed her wand at the off distance and nodded.

"Repeat after me."

_"Veniant, spiritus aeriales fulgurientes."_ Louise did as told, her concentration going straight to the spot at the tip of her wand where her magic was being gathered. She felt something that was not her own shaping the magic, as if the words had power of their own. It was different from her own magic in which the words to the incantation were completely required.

The incantation she was reciting was merely an aid, and as she saw how the wind and the lightning came together in her mind, she was able to help the process along. She wondered if that was how magic really felt, how having the very elements at your fingertips truly was.

She had made this kind of exercise many times on her own. Trying to get a feel of her magical energy and then rushing it out. It had always ended in an explosion, even if she tried her hardest to change the element of the magical energy she gathered.

However, this energy wasn't even what she usually felt. It was just her raw power transforming from that usual tasteless, featureless white into green and yellow in her mind, taking on the characteristics of lightning and wind.

_"Cum fulgurationi flet tempestas austrina."_

She felt everything swirling, combining and bursting forth.

The lightning and wind that was flowing across her arm, from her very center to the tip of her wand suddenly began swirling, a furious storm waiting to be unleashed. The feeling of power, the rush of having the elements in her command, it was incredible.

_"Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!"_

Jaws fell to the ground as what looked like someone had concentrated a lightning storm into a single, person-sized beam that tore through the air and into the sky, the tempestuous winds of a storm surrounding it as it did.

And then, in the middle of the air, it exploded spectacularly.

Negi blinked. "Okay, I knew you have more raw power than I have, but _that_ was a bit more than I expected. Though it was a bit sloppy, it seems that all your studying paid off..."

"I... I did it... I casted a spell properly... I DID IT!" She was beyond ecstatic. Sure, Negi had said many times that she had it in her to do so. She still began jumping in the air and dancing like a giddy little girl. Not many people had the balls to interrupt it.

"Congratulations Louise!" Kirche yelled, tackling the pinkette to the ground.

"Well, well, partner, you just bypassed her biggest weakness. Well, I guess this will do until she learns how to cast actual Void Spells." Derflinger commented.

"Actual Void Spells?" Negi asked, turning his attention to the sword while the crowd went on an uproar about Louise's power.

Derflinger fell silent for the moment before replying. "You should be capable of unlocking it for her if you unlock the runes themselves."

The sword had been hesitant to speak that part, because Negi knew what that entailed. He basically had to let the runes increase their hold on him, making it harder to resist their influence, to unlock Louise's powers as a heir of the Void. It made sense. The more devoted the familiar was, the more power the runes would unlock.

It also meant that the familiar would have trouble disobeying his master.

He'd keep that card until it was absolutely needed.

Louise, just to practice, fired a second Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens into the air...

...And promptly collapsed from exhaustion after firing a much weaker beam, which was still quite surprising to most people.

Still, she was still happy. She'd shown everyone she could do magic. Twice, to boot. Refectio only recovered her physically, and to a point. Her muscles felt kind of sluggish. It was weird to see Magic take so much out of her physically, she'd never had that kind of problem.

So after Negi had a bit more fun by systematically destroying Guiche and Montmorency and she had kicked him halfway across campus to where he could get washed, they set out to meet the princess.

Negi had pointed out to Louise that she'd have to get intensive training since they'd only have three days and as such had activated his artifact, the contract making a small amount of energy flow to him. She noticed the difference almost instantly, having so little due to earlier exhaustion, but she said nothing about it.

After all, if she couldn't take a little pressure like this then she wasn't worthy of helping the princess. She'd make up for past failures as best as she could.

"So they did declare war." Negi spoke as they walked, both ignoring the weird stares they got. Negi was kind of intimidating to the majority of the public. Had to be the fact that the coat did make him look badass.

"Yes... Negi, I hadn't asked this before, but you are an outsider, you have nothing to do with the war. What will you do?"

The question seemed to stun Negi, and he kept walking merely because it was simpler than standing still to ponder it. "Well... I can't really say I'm looking forward to getting involved. After all, I am a diplomat, I'd prefer if this could be solved with words." The redhead spoke. "But I am ultimately bound to you in this, Louise. I will protect you no matter what. Be it from Albion, from Tristain or from the entire world. That is my duty as your familiar."

"But what about the eclipse?" She asked, frowning in thought. "If you can go back to your world, then you will have no need to fight in this war."

Negi was silent for a full minute. "To be fair, I still believe it is quite impossible to reach a solar eclipse. The moons are too far away to do such a thing. If I had to guess, I'd say it was a one in a million chance, that the portal just happened to open on the exact spot where it would be obscured by the eclipse from where it was seen."

A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. That had been eating away at her for a while. It seemed he didn't have quite a lot of interest in trying it out. Besides, what he said was actually plausible, all things considered. He had spoken enough about his world for Louise to know that they had very advanced technology.

"Still, you haven't told me if you are going to join us." Louise said, turning to Negi and actually stopping so that an untimely arrival wouldn't break their conversation.

"Louise, I am an outsider. No, more than that, I am a foreign royal. However, I have some things to discuss with the princess myself." He had a growing smile as he said so.

Everyone in the castle gave them odd looks. Again, had to be Negi's fault. The sword on his back didn't help, though no guard seemed to have the balls to approach him to say he couldn't carry it into the throne room.

Louise kneeled in front of the throne, one hand on her chest while Negi simply bowed as usual, though it was still weird for Henrietta not to see Louise force him to kneel. That girl could be strict about etiquette.

"Princess, please accept me at your side." Louise said solemnly, her eyes closed and her face down. The last time she'd seen the princess, both of them had been crying, depressed wrecks. It was heartwarming to see Henrietta smile again.

"Thank you, Louise."

Negi sighed. "Princess, I said long ago that I could not offer much in the form of aid." Negi said, looking positively uncomfortable with having to say what he said. "However, circumstances have it that the one type of aid that I can provide you as I am be necessary."

The princess snapped her head so fast Louise thought she may get whiplash from it. It was kind of funny. "Mister Familiar?" Her curiosity was rather clear, and if Louise knew her princess well, she was always keeping an eye on anything interesting.

Negi himself knew that fact, and he knew that the princess knew more than anyone else what he could bring to the table.

"Allow me to propose an alliance between us. I am planning to create a permanent connection between this world and my own. For that, however, I will need tremendous amounts of resources and the cooperation from a sizable workforce. In exchange for such aids, I promise you military aid as you see fit."

The princess considered the offer. It seemed ludicrous, at first glance. He was asking for a lot for the aid of a single, if insanely powerful, mage. Then again, she'd seen his powers herself and it was no doubt that he was probably on a level with an elf, or perhaps even superior.

"Your offer is tempting, Mr. Familiar, even despite its steep cost." The princess said, though it was clear that it wasn't entirely convincing. "But we are a country at war. You understand we cannot spare much right now." She said, her voice somewhat conveying her own doubts.

She knew more than anyone the kind of power that he had. But would it be enough for the benefits he provided

"I understand that I am asking you to become indebted to a foreign entity that you distrust with great reason." Negi quickly said, sighing. "As you might have imagined, a, pardon the word, political shitstorm would ensue if I took part in this conflict without a proper alliance. We are important figures, we cannot freely act like this."

"Yes, I understand your concerns." Henrietta said. "And I imagine that you require a good reason for spontaneously establishing an alliance without consulting your superiors."

Negi shook his head. "My superiors are my people and I do what I believe is best for them. I had planned to connect our worlds regardless of that, but having to negotiate for a space that I could occupy and the resources necessary to create a connection would have been troublesome in the long run. I do not like to take advantage of something such as a war, but this presents a chance for us both to obtain benefit."

"How so?" Henrietta asked, clutching her scepter tightly. She was actually running the offer in her head time and time again as they spoke. She knew that Tristain would not be able to survive this war. Not without taking innumerable losses. Yet it was a high price to pay.

"Ah, it's rather simple. After all, Tristain will become the first place to benefit from interplanar trade, being that the first Gateport is most likely to be located in this country."

"Excuse me for looking a gift horse in the mouth but, what is it that you gain from this, then?"

"I am not seeking personal gain. Everything that I obtain from our trade will fuel this project, preventing my own organization from having to use our own resources."

It made sense. After all, the money that wasn't spent on that could be spent on salaries.

Louise was stunned. She hadn't quite expected her familiar to so suddenly go for an improvised diplomatic meeting with the princess. Though it did strike her that he was at the very least making the offer. She knew he really had no reason to get involved in the war. Her eyes darted between the familiar and the princess.

She didn't know whether she wanted to punch her familiar for making what seemed like an impossibly pricy deal with little payoff (although his description of it made it sound like it'd be an investment that would pay for itself) in economical matters. Then again, he was also offering military aid, and she'd seen just how broken he was.

"Very well then." Henrietta conceded.

"Then, I, King Negius Springfieldes Entheophysia, place under your charge all of the active military personnel currently in Halkeginia. Therefore, I am under your orders until the end of this war."

Beat.

"What?"

Forget decorum and send it all to hell. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but at least that cat died knowing what the hell was going on.

"... I hadn't told you, had you?" Louise spoke, tentatively, to the princess who seemed utterly baffled. "I'm sorry, your Highness!" she said, bowing as low as she could.

Negi chuckled slightly. "Well, I did ask you to keep it a secret, Master." He said, then he turned to address Henrietta again. "Indeed, I am the last heir of the Royal Family of Vespertatia." The princess raised one eyebrow, as if saying 'That's all you're gonna say?', it was a pretty clear message. "By birthright, I am the King of Vespertatia, a fallen kingdom from my world. Working on reinstitution."

Well... that did explain why Louise suddenly went from treating him normally to treating him with kiddy gloves. Though it only opened countless other cans filled with worms. Henrietta felt a headache coming and did her best to ignore it for the time being.

"I thought you said you were a prince." Louise said, deadpan.

"Well, yes, I haven't been crowned, technically. But since there are no other members of the royal family, I am the king in all but title."

He didn't seem to be lying as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. She'd known since long that he had to be some kind of influential figure from his home. Maybe a diplomat or something. A great general, perhaps, given his immense power.

But... a king? A royal, even? It was quite surprising. She suddenly felt somewhat bad for addressing him as Mr. Familiar.

"Please don't let this color your impression of me." Negi said, smiling the most disarming smile he could.

Hah. She'd allow it to color her impression of him alright. Mostly because it really made her look at his actions with different eyes. After all, he was a man who thought nothing of small, menial tasks, a man who had no problem dirtying his own hands if it came down to it and willing to place the burden on his shoulders.

A rare sight for such an influential person.

She almost laughed to herself. That was the image of the ideal king. The ruler she wanted to be. Just, fair, strong. Someone who the people could depend on in times of need, who wouldn't be blind to the needs of the masses.

She couldn't help but smile at the two who seemed to be engaging in a discussion about whether or not he could call himself king if he wasn't crowned yet. In a sense, she couldn't really care less about that.

In the end, enough was achieved. She'd secured herself a powerful ally. Perhaps not enough to make up for the loss of the alliance with Germania, but maybe enough to turn the tide of the war in their favor. And, who knows, it would most likely do wonders for Tristain's economy as well.

"Ah, but I guess that calling you Mr. Familiar won't do anymore." Henrietta said, wondering more to herself. "Right, Lord Negi?"

Negi pouted at her. "Please, don't do that." He pleaded. "I'm just Negi Springfield."

"Ah, yes, I do admit that having to maintain decorum does get annoying after a while, but it is necessary." Henrietta pointed out, then turned to Louise. "Then again..."

Louise was mute under the scrutinizing stare of the princess.

Both Henrietta and Negi actually burst out laughing as Louise was reduced to a flustered mess.

* * *

The rest of the day was uneventful. Louise had her parade rained on by Negi pointing out that the spell shouldn't explode like it did, and it was probably a side effect of her being a void mage. It seemed that she couldn't do much in the utility department, but she could be hellishly powerful as artillery.

Still, it was a good thing. She'd be more useful to the princess that way and that made Louise happy. He also said that the spell was still incomplete, and that in time he'd teach her how to do away with incantations. Maybe, with a bit of luck, she'd actually be capable of casting the spell without it exploding (after all, it was a spell meant for a concentrated burst of power).

Louise slept rather well that night, all things considered, though she still missed the familiar warmth of having her familiar next to her, no pun intended.

Somewhere, on a rooftop, a lone redhead stood, racking his brain, running through a million situations, time and time again. He sighed dejectedly, staring at the distant moons. "What am I about to do?" He asked, more to himself. "I promised my aid but... Can I fight a war?"

The question went unanswered by the cold night air. The breeze was refreshing, and in a sense, almost heavenly, since the heat during most of the day had been unbearable. He had grown too used to the cool temperatures that an office at several thousand feet provided.

"What would you guys think of me right now? Mother, father... you two fought a war yourselves, didn't you? I wonder... did father kill many people?" It wasn't a stretch. In fact, he'd be just lying to himself if he thought so. He had seen Ala Rubra's body count, and the majority of the bodies prior to their desertion were indeed to their name.

And only a minority of them were summoned demons.

It was still a hard thought to swallow, to just come out and say that his father had killed more people than Negi actually personally knew. To him, they had just been faceless mooks attacking the country that had paid for his services, with whom he'd dealt swiftly. And even when he had started directly working against Cosmo Enthelecheia, he still racked up an impressive count.

And Ala Rubra paled in comparison to his mother's body count, which included several millions of her own country men, of innocents. The Queen Of Calamity had allowed a calamity to befall her and her country to save the rest of the world.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. A basic, logical principle that Negi had come to have to accept. You cannot please everyone, no matter how hard you work, and some times, you have to choose the lesser evil. Were it his choice, he'd place the weight of the world on his own two shoulders, but it just wasn't possible.

Life was precious to him. As hard as Evangeline had tried to drill the opposite in his head, he cared a great deal about everyone, even about those who hated him. Is it okay to take the life of a thousand for the sake of a million?

He knew that the sacrifices to be made would not be only his own, but to forcefully end someone else's life was something he was just not okay with. All of the people who had met the end by his hands, he regretted with all of his being.

And then he was there, lying to himself. The manifestation of Magia Erebea strengthening, the darker thoughts amplifying and the power running through his veins being the ultimate proof of his denial. He was not capable of ending someone's life without remorse.

Though... was it because he treasured life or because he searched for any way in which to distinguish himself from the enemies he so hated? The enemies who had been willing to throw away the lives of so many to save their own skins, he wasn't like them.

He wasn't looking to save himself. He would live forever, regardless of what happened.

That only brought him to another line of questioning, for so many were within him right now that he left his brain on auto pilot as he processed them one by one.

Is it okay to annihilate a large amount of people for the safety of a country?

He couldn't bring himself to killing one person. How would he do against thousands? What could he possibly do against an army too large to hear his words?

Frightening them would only go so far. He knew, better than anyone, what displaying the power difference could achieve.

But... his father hadn't worried about such things when he fought. When he fought, it was kill or be killed. Fight for your reward. Slaughter everything in your path. You exist to save as many innocents as you can, even if you have to doom the rest to achieve your hopes.

Is it okay to meddle in a war that was not of his world? To shove his head where it was not required? Were he not in the country, the war would follow its natural course, the strongest would prosper and the weakest would be consumed to be used as fuel. As much as he hated having to admit that, it was the way of the world, it was how it worked.

What would his mother say? He hadn't lied to Henrietta. He truly was acting in what he perceived was the best for both Tristain and Earth. Though it bit him to know that it would mean being seen as a monster by the populace of Albion, with more than good reason. He was an outsider, a being beyond their comprehension, wielding powers they found incredible, who suddenly decided to take a side against them.

What would the people of Tristain think? That he was some kind of spirit or deity their leaders had brokered a deal with to aid them in the war? What chances were there of that? Sure, Osmond theorized he was a benevolent lightning spirit that had been summoned as Louise's familiar. At the time, Negi had lied with cursed ease. He wasn't a spirit. Not that kind of spirit. Although he'd like to think he is benevolent.

Would the people of the rest of the world assume that their princess was consorting with a demonic entity and assume that as proof that she was an evil individual and thus should be removed from the throne? It was kind of funny to consider that they would be halfway right, in a sense. There would be people who would take that side even within Tristain itself. There were all kinds of people in the world.

Here he was, a High Level Demon, accepting a deal with a mortal, exchanging great power for a considerable price. Maybe not quite a Faustian Deal, since it was an actual, legal alliance with a country... from another plane of existance.

The voices were already sounding in his head. He knew how they would react. Ala Alba would be with him, regardless of the choice he made. There was blind loyalty going both ways in their relationship. He would never betray them and they would never betray him. It went beyond simple friendship. Even beyond the level of closeness attained by him and his closer friends.

Maybe he was over thinking it. After all, he'd just have to bear with it, and after the war was over, he'd have an eternity to hate himself for his atrocities. He'd ask Evangeline how she dealt with the guilt that her body count brought her when he was done with it.

However, even as he thought so, something else registered in his mind. What if... What if it was the wrong choice? What if it all ended up going wrong and he ended up simply slaughtering people and achieving nothing? It was not something to be done as simply as that. It was not something that concerned only himself. Now he wished he had Asuna with him. She'd just punch him and make him figure out the right choice somehow.

He wished Chisame could step in, verbally destroy him and tell him that he was being an idiot for overthinking it so much that he was starting to grow metaphoric wrinkles. But that only served to make him even more confused. He detested the taking of lives, whether it be with or without a purpose. It was something of a paradox for him, how he could idolize people who had killed so many either in defense or in offense... Maybe they were right.

There are times for everything. Even for the unthinkable. But... was it the time to do it?

And even if it was, it wasn't right to do something so abominable, even if he tried to convince himself otherwise. He just couldn't imagine himself cutting bodies left and right, carving a path through the battlefield, leaving behind himself only death and sorrow. He just couldn't imagine ending yet another life.

Derflinger would be no help. The sword was made for violence and could not see wrong in it. He was just thankful that it didn't even try to give its own moral judgment, while at the same time cursing it for not doing so. Maybe it was wiser than it let on, since it kept itself shut.

"What should I do?"

He felt someone tug on one of his sleeves. A large blue dragon and it's small blue haired rider were right next to him. She looked at him with the ghost of concern, her eyes staring straight into his past her glasses, and he only then noticed he'd been frowning so much it was almost painful.

He plastered on the most fake smile he could as he turned to stare at his visitor. "Ah, hello, Tabitha." The only person who didn't recognize the stress in his voice was himself. It was clearly written across Tabitha's face that he wasn't fooling her. "What brings you here?"

"Sad." She stated, maintaining her balance perfectly on the tiled roof of the tower.

Negi blinked. Of course she'd be sad, since she was in a foreign country when said foreign country was about to be invaded by another one, she had nothing to do with the war and was likely to be caught in the crossfire. An innocent. A friend. Someone precious to him.

Tabitha shook her head, then pointed at him. "You are sad. I am worried."

He blinked again, finding himself at a loss for words. "W-What?" He asked.

"Your choice." She explained. "Why do you fight?" She asked, looking up at him, now that Negi had straightened himself to full height. The blue haired girl didn't seem to mind the cold much, either, and they fell silent for a while, neither really willing to break the song made by Sylphid's wings as the dragon soared through the night sky.

It wasn't for Tristain that he fought, or even for his own people. It was a reminder of why he fought. A reminder of why, in the end, he did everything he did, that reminded him that any sacrifice, no matter how big, was worth it, just to see them happy. Still, he didn't answer, only let a smile creep to his face, however slowly it did so.

"Is it worth it?" She asked, finally breaking the silence.

He fought to protect his friends, his loved ones. And if to protect them, he had to fight the rest of the world, if he had to give up everything, his humanity, his soul, his morals, then he would. Because they mattered that damn much to him. Some people said that he was more similar to his mother than to his father, but it was these kinds of moments that proved that he really was the son of Nagi Springfield.

He fought, first and foremost, to save his friends. And while he was at it he just might as well save the world.

Negi nodded. "Yes." His smile had turned into a grin, and if Tabitha allowed herself to say it out loud, it was quite an idiotic appearing grin.

"Then worry not." Tabitha finished, lazily raising a hand to whistle at her pickup.

Before she could do so, however, she was surprised by Negi hugging her tightly. "Thank you, Tabitha." he said, smiling in a way that made even the sun seem dull by comparison.

Wide eyed and slightly flushed, she almost slipped from the roof, almost wishing that he'd do it again. It was a strange feeling that she hadn't quite gotten used to, and the anxiety to experience it again was more than a bit annoying, but... It'd do better to keep that fact a secret.

* * *

I love me some Negi/Tabitha, I must admit.


	17. Dragon Slayer?

**Author's Note:  
**Nothing too terribly interesting to say, just that this was GREATLY delayed by Vegetto, who decided that today was a nice day to beat the ever loving crap out of me. I have to finish his last three spars to complete his training, but given that I have to fight three people, they're hard as phuck to complete.

SeanHicks4: The kiss actually happened. The nightmare followed when Negi fell asleep. It would be easier to reply to you if I could actually pm you yanno.

Thank you for the reviews, everybody else.

* * *

**Prologue**: Because This Was Supposed To Be Last Chapter's Omake.

Taking a hint from Jack Rakan, Negi had somehow managed to convince Osmond to let him get a blackboard and what they passed as chalk. It was a bit messy, but it was the same as the time it'd been done for him. He knocked the mobile blackboard on its side and drew a long vertical line on one side.

He pondered things a bit, and then marked a line at the almost very beginning. "One. A normal human being. A standard commoner."

His class nodded.

Then he marked a wavy line from 3 to 50. "This is where most martial artists, including swordsmen and other weapon masters, find themselves. At this level, it is more a matter of skill than sheer power, and can be achieved through long periods of training." the redhead continued explaining, earning another nod.

"Where does a mage stand?"

Negi rubbed his chin, falling into thought for a few minutes. Then he marked a line at twenty, another at forty and a third at eighty. "When I met you, Guiche, you were here. I'd imagine the average mage that actually knows how to fight will be around forty. Mott was at around eighty. Again, this is both skill and power, and being unskilled will lower your score. Mott had some power, but didn't even know how to use it."

Coming from him, they wouldn't doubt it. If anyone knew how to use lots and lots of power, it was him. Then he marked a hundred. "This is where an experienced battlemage would stand. Tabitha and Kirche stand either here or up to one hundred and fifty. Although that is just an estimate based on when we fought near the lake, and it might actually be lower than it should be."

Said two people nodded, somewhat haughtily in Kirche's case. Mostly because she was being compared favorably against veterans. It wasn't often that that happened, since most of the time people either complimented her looks or called her a slut under their breath.

"Wardes, meanwhile, was at roughly two hundred and fifty. He was actually more powerful than most mages from my world, mostly due to experience and skill." to punctuate what he was saying, he marked a line a fair bit above the previous ones. "And this world's dragons, according to all I have read, are actually a fair bit weaker than my own world's, around three hundred for most of them."

"Now, from just your Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens alone, Louise, I'd have to put you at roughly six hundred. But I actually know you're more powerful than that, you just can't really use your power yet. It happens to everyone who has great amounts of power." No, really, it does! See Gohan, Naruto or Haruhi Suzumiya! They are all powerful as all f*ck but, at least initially, have absolutely no idea how to control that immense power.

Louise didn't know whether to squeal or claim it preposterous that she was rated as twice as powerful as a dragon.

Then he drew a line just above Louise, marking it 650. "This is where the weakest of the dragon species in my world stands. Gryphon Dragons, which possess no magic other than their razor wind breath, are just above this, standing at seven hundred."

"Gryphon Dragons?" Guiche asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Imagine a gryphon. Now imagine it about six times larger and with a giant horn in its forehead." Negi said, almost bored. "Moving on, someone of Louise's caliber does actually stand a chance against large groups of people... if she actually knew how to use that much power."

"Uhm... Negi, I can't help but notice you didn't rank me and Guiche."

"Oh, that. Well, to tell you the truth, I had actually been hoping for you two to be at least at the two hundred mark by this point. Guiche is at roughly one hundred and sixty, while you are at one hundred and seventy under best circumstances, Montmorency."

Both blonds blinked at each other. To think that they would be ranked at about twice a triangle mage's power level... was actually kind of cool. After all, everyone likes a good ego stroking every once in a while.

Louise found it mildly ironic that she'd once said that Guiche couldn't hold a candle to Lord Mott, now it was the other way around.

"Hm... darling, just for the sake of curiosity, where would you stand in all this?" Kirche asked, folding her arms over her plentiful chest. It wasn't like she wanted to be compared to him, rather, she wanted to compare everyone else to him. She already knew he was probably at the top of the chart, though what number it could be was intriguing, to say the least.

Negi separated the line into two pieces. "From here on is what in my world is called the 'Monster' tier, people who are generally referred to as monsters because of the sheer power they command. A demon god from my world is roughly estimated at around eight thousand or so." the magister spoke, marking a line at the spot where he placed said number.

Then he marked a line far past that. At the nine thousand point. "This is what most of you have seen, Actus Noctis Erebrae, the skill I used to defeat Lord Mott. When I activate Armationem, the ability you saw me use against Fouquet, this becomes..." A quick scribble had them staring at the number of thirteen thousands. "This is my real power."

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 17: Tentative

They were heading out. Apparently, the princess was smart enough to realize that having an immortal as a damage sponge leading a column was actually a good idea. Considering it was unlikely that any of them got past his physical barriers, he actually agreed with her on that end.

Though Negi had to point out that Henrietta could have chosen something that showed a bit less skin and guarded her better than the rather skimpy armor she had chosen to wear to battle, it was only answered by said royal laughing his concerns off. After all, she wouldn't be hit by anything that could be stopped by armor, and everything else would just punch straight through it, so she had chosen something that was significantly easier to move in than full plate.

Logic is logic, he had to admit.

It was clear, however, that Louise wasn't taking the whole 'We're Going To War' thing well, given how worried she was for the Princess' own safety, having tried to convince her to stay at the back several times. Apparently, the concept of letting her subjects take the cannonballs for her was something that disgusted Henrietta. Negi could respect that, even if it _was_ a stupid idea to put her neck out like that.

He would've done the same, regardless.

"But, Your Highness, if you are hit, then it'll be over!"

Henrietta shook her head. "I am the Princess, Louise Françoise. I have to lead my people to war." She justified, as the horses that should have been further apart seemed to react to their riders' conversation by maintaining the same pace. It was a testament to Louise's skill as a rider that she could actually manage to regulate the horse's pace like that.

"But still, you shouldn't endanger yourself by _literally_ leading us!" The pinkette was frantic in trying to get her to a position with the benefit of more cover. After all, what kind of idiot would stick his neck out for the guillotine like that?

"Don't worry about me." It kind of hit Louise just how idiotically selfless both the princess and Negi were at times. She was, indeed, surrounded by idiots in that sense. Literally, right now, as Negi was riding to her right, muttering complaints about his crotch being destroyed when he thought no one could hear him.

Idiots she wouldn't have any other way. She really envied their ability to smile like that, making everything seem like it will go alright.

The forest was still thick when the column stopped for a minute at the sight of the flying island of Albion in the distance, a gigantic vessel floating in front of it. The dragons surrounding it were positively tiny. Then again, to Negi they were tiny anyway, approximately the size of a wyvern instead of a full dragon.

The moons were starting to get in the sun's way as the column resumed its advance until the forest parted and gave way to a large field of green, at which point they stopped again.

Henrietta smiled as she saw the dragons heading their way. "Negi, can you take care of the dragon knights?" She asked, turning to the mage who was already dismounted. The mage nodded. "Well... Blitz them!" She added, pointing at the sky at the dragon wing approaching.

"Aye. Sorry to leave you here, but you can't fly." Negi said, patting his horse on the side. He jumped into the air, _fifty feet_ into the air to be exact. Then he disappeared in a sonic boom.

The red dots that were the dragons suddenly broke formation as the flight lead seemed to have trouble. He hadn't thought he'd be carrying a passenger in that flight. Negi hesitated only for a second before slicing the dragon's wings off, at which point he jumped off of it and then used Void Shundou to get to the next.

"One!"

The next was actually expecting him and tried to unleash a wind spell on him, but all it did was crash uselessly against his barriers, Negi kneeing the guy in the face and proceeding to use Derflinger to remove his dragon's capability for flight. It was kind of fun, actually, though the sight of their horrified faces as they stopped floating to plummet down was starting to bother him.

"Two!"

However, as he jumped off from this one, the other three turned their attentions to him and quickly unleashed their white hot breath on him. Negi grinned and simply let the attacks crash against his barriers, allowing a free fall of two seconds before he used Shundou again. The next one didn't even see him coming as his dragon began plummeting towards the ground without its wings.

"Three!"

"I give that one a six, Partner, because you were slow."

"It was a dramatic pause, Derflinger." Negi pointed out, as he once again found himself in the back of a dragon.

"The fu-"

"That's not nice language." Negi said, frowning. Derflinger sliced through the air, its blunt side impacting the man in the side of the head. Had he worn armor, that would've probably only rattled him instead of knocking him stupid.

Negi then had to contend with the unsteady footing as he placed Derflinger where a shorter sword's sheath would be. He took a step forward and slashed as if he were taking it out of the sheath, quickly spinning around and shredding both of the dragon's wings.

"Four!"

Cromwell's jaw almost unhinged itself. "How is he doing that? How is that even possible? Dammit! Wardes, get in there! Get every dragon out at once!" He yelled as the deck found itself in the biggest hurry it ever had to relay the man's orders.

The rider of the fifth tried to stab Negi. It wasn't a very successful attempt. Negi slapped the Rider without much of a care, earning a rather surprised stare from the man who had just been bitch-slapped and again sliced the Dragon's wings off, this time actually kicking off instead of simply jumping, adding velocity to the dragon's drop.

"He just took out FIVE! Five dragon knights on his own! The holy hell is going on?" Cromwell yelled, his eyes narrowing. "Dammit! Concentrate everything on that son of a bitch! I want him dead!"

Free fall allowed him to land where the first dragon had fallen, as it was attempting to get up after the shock of the fall. It seemed that, if nothing else, the things were tough. That was at least a hundred feet drop for most of them. A dust cloud arose as he hit the ground. Negi dashed forward, merely running fast instead of using Shundou, leaped on top of the dragon's head and then jumped again, putting his full force in his legs. The dragon's head made a tiny crater for itself and the beast was out.

He blocked an incoming stream of fire that was quickly followed by a gust of wind, the first he just let crash uselessly against his barrier and the second he stopped with Derflinger.

This rider seemed to still be conscious. A badass. Negi was actually finding himself feeling some respect for the man who tried to defend his mount until the bitter end. The dragon was still dangerous though, so he dodged two gusts of wind as he slided down the neck and drop kicked the Dragon Knight off his mount, at which point whatever was holding him awake gave out.

If he ever met the guy as a prisoner of war, he'd put a word in his favor. That had to have been sheer balls that kept him awake after a hundred feet drop.

Draconic growls alerted him to the beast trying to shake him off itself, but Negi soon jumped, the dragon howling as it felt the force of being kicked particularly hard, and landed, fist first, on top of its head. It rocketed to the ground, also unconscious.

Negi took a moment to get a breather as he examined the field in front of him.

The other three died from the fall, having been higher up when they were felled. He didn't want to know if the riders had survived, although he hoped and wished they had. He was a blur for two seconds before he vanished in another sonic wind, tearing apart the space from which he had 'leaped'.

Most of the soldiers were utterly speechless, but Henrietta found herself smiling as Negi had to Shundou twice to actually get back to the column. "All clear." He reported, a conflicted smile on his face. Maybe it had been excessive force, but he didn't know if the dragons could regenerate their wings or if they could be healed. In any case, it didn't matter at the moment.

"Very well! If any more Dragon Knights take to the air, you are to take them down, Negi! Mage Knights, attack the vessel, aim for the cannons! Gryphon Knights, provide a diversion for the cannon fire! Everyone else, CHARGE!"

Negi frowned as he mounted and followed the order, seeing several runners go to relay the princess' orders where her voice didn't reach. He really didn't like the fact that the horse seemed hell bent on destroying his crotch. Really should have asked Ayaka how to ride without threatening the family jewels.

The cannon fire began, and he muttered an activation charm for his more powerful physical barriers. They would be a strain on his reserves during the fight, but at the very least they'd stop anything from hitting his general area.

Reconquista had barely taken over Tarbes, and hadn't fortified their position on it, not beyond making the beginnings of a fortress and a couple archer towers that an earth mage lifted in his free time, meaning that melee soon commenced and the invading force didn't have much of an advantage, even if they had a respectable amount of barricades built.

Tristain's force contained far too many mages for that to be a problem, though, as the first line was just plowed through by the charging knights and spells of all kinds began to flow back and forth between both sides.

To Negi, it was mildly disgusting to see people so eager to kill each other. But that was the truth of life.

A recognizable figure amongst the enemy troops, possibly a captain or such, could be heard above the chaos. "Everybody let them have it!" And then the soldiers were rushing.

It was clear that the princess would be rushed. That was what Negi was there for. He'd promised Louise that no harm would come to Henrietta, and by all hells he would keep that promise, particularly because they seemed to remain very close to each other even in the fray of battle.

There was a small sort of 'bubble' built around them, since everyone was doing their best to protect their princess. The fact that she was more of a nuke mage than a battlemage showed, as her more powerful magic attacks manifested in either rains of icicles or even hail, while Louise seemed to have fun making things explode at a distance.

Who knew that something she'd hated so much was now so fun to do?

And there was also a growing pile of corpses, as arcs of blood flowed through the air. Negi shook his head and concentrated on nonlethal, if tremendously painful attacks that slapped people away from him and from the space he was protecting

Negi growled as a mage knight took aim at the pink haired girl by the princess, and then the man was missing his right arm. Then the knight was kicked into a charging formation, breaking it apart. The redhead ignored how the blood flowed and stained him as he glared at the recovering group.

"This guy's pretty strong!" One of the soldiers yelled, as Negi rushed forward, tearing through the formation like a hot knife through butter. Derflinger complained in its sheath, but Negi was steadfastly refusing to pull it out. The sword, even if Negi used its blunt side, could be lethal. He had learned to trust his fists more than anything else.

The moment they were all incapacitated, the redhead dashed back to where Louise was taking aim at the large boat. Five seconds after she did, a sizable explosion rocked it, but didn't do much more than that. Quite impressive, to say the least, for whoever enchanted that thing. Louise's explosions could deal one hell of a lot of damage.

"Louise Françoise!" Henrietta yelled, waving her scepter at a man wielding a sword who had jumped at Louise. A few shards of ice almost shredded the man in the spot, but his armor held him together. Negi cringed a bit at the sight, and so did Louise. Henrietta seemed unfazzed.

"Ah, Mr. Springfield, don't worry about Louise Françoise. I will do my best to protect her."

"Hey! That's my line!" Louise said, somewhat offended.

Negi nodded at Henrietta. "Thank you." He said, not even looking as he used Derflinger to block an incoming fireball. Then he noticed the fact that they were in a bottleneck created through barricades as the advance towards Tarbes continued. They were nearing the actual town. It seemed they actually wanted to convert it into the last line of defense.

A shield formation awaited forward, next to two buildings filled with archers, who fired a barrage upon them. With a wave of his hand, a larger than usual barrier sprung forth, the arrows crashing uselessly against it. Before he could do much more than that, however, the barricade's guards exploded and were tossed around like toys.

"... They were blocking the view." Louise justified, blushing slightly.

Negi almost chuckled, before he stabbed Derflinger into the ground. "Well, I guess the barricade is annoying, too. _Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!_" placing his hand forward, Negi let loose a powerful tornado of wind and electricity, which carved a path, sending stone and rock flying as it cut through the battlefield, punching straight through all of the barricades and their guardians.

"Some times, I think he does that just to annoy me." Louise said, pouting, causing Henrietta to giggle despite her concentration.

"You may be right. You are cute when you are angry, Louise." The princess commented.

"He's too strong! We can't win against him!"

"What immense strength!"

The only thing those two guards saw was a blur of movement as Derflinger continued to slice through the air.

"Up!" Henrietta shouted, pointing at the sky, where a wing of dragon knights had just taken flight, the red dragons were being lead by a black one. With a grin on his face that sent chills down spines, Negi jumped, creating a shockwave from the spot he did so. Before anyone had a chance to see what was going on, the Red Dragons began falling, most sent like bullets. Though Henrietta would've appreciated him actually killing them, there was no doubt in that she also appreciated grounding them.

Mostly because when they fell, they were either unconscious or too dazzed to do anything, at which point knights would gang up on them. Most of the riders surrendered peacefully, having broken limbs from the fall, or else being completely knocked unconscious by the fall.

A massively powerful whirlwind engulfed Negi, but it was simply dispelled by Derflinger, which absorbed the blast into itself.

"WARDES! I'm coming for you! Not even death will save you from me!"

The tenth, the flight lead, was carrying someone who made Negi's blood boil, and it showed. Wardes gave an incoherent cry as he released everything he had in a lightning attack that simply struck Derflinger's flat side. The dragon had just been paralyzed by a rather brutal discharge of energy, so its capacity to remain on the sky was limited.

The Ex Captain tried to shriek, but it's hard to scream when your ribs were just reduced to paste. Again. Those hadn't even finished healing from the last beatdown.

Negi grabbed his right arm, his sword arm, and twisted it around until a satisfying crack could be heard, then a bit more for good measure. The scream of pain was kind of annoying, but it was something Negi had expected and was thus capable of blocking out. His grin sent chills down Wardes' spine. Before the dragon could meet the ground, he jumped off, carrying Wardes from his wounded arm.

The world was beginning to darken as the eclipse was beginning.

* * *

**Interlude: El Talon De La Cotideaneidad**

Tabitha was almost completely silent, save for the sound of her breathing. The _only_ sound that could be heard in the entire academy. It was starting to drive Kirche _nuts_. She was bored. She'd passed on going to the battle, after all she was a Germanian and the alliance was shot.

Her nerves weren't calmed, however, since she knew that her friends, and her darling, were fighting the war. The teachers had all chosen to retire for the day, but she'd have to wait quite a long while before she could be picked up... and even then, she wouldn't, since Tabitha would then have to stay in the academy alone.

That would be kind of mean to do to her best friend.

But still, it was _boring_. And she was worried about her friends. And the fact that Tabitha didn't let her play with Sylphid only made it WORSE.

At least Flame was as loyal as ever, though even playing catch with fireballs eventually became dull and incapable of soothing nerves. So she had tried to get a book from Tabitha's library. That didn't last very long either.

"Aren't you worried? The least bit?"

Tabitha shook her head.

"I mean, sure, Darling is with them, but he is only one man." Kirche said, folding her arms over her chest. Or trying to, anyway. It is kind of hard. Folding her arms over her chest, I mean! Dammit, stupid Freudian slips.

Tabitha shook her head again. It seemed she was too concentrated on whatever tale she was reading to pay real attention to Kirche. The redhead bombshell envied the smaller blue haired girl for her ability to enjoy a book so thoroughly. Then an idea came to her head. "Hey, I feel kind of insulted that Guiche got one up over us. Well, me, anyway. We can't blame darling for never seeing you fight seriously."

This seemed to actually get Tabitha's attention; she had actually stopped reading to look at Kirche. "So, I want you to train me to be a better battle mage."

Tabitha weighed the pros and cons. On the one hand, it'd be troublesome. On the other, Kirche was already clever enough and had considerable power. She lacked the discipline and skill that came with experience. And by experience, she meant getting thrown facefirst against death wielding a spoon.

It was a clear no, so she again shook her head. However, she didn't immediately return to her book. Kirche's tantrums were often very interesting, if only to see to what lengths most men would go to put a smile on her face. Some had gone far too far.

Kirche sat, quietly fuming. Then she snapped her fingers. "Well, if Darling could make Guiche that strong in such a short time..."

There was a clear need to run at that point, though Tabitha couldn't quite understand _why_ it sounded like such an epically stupid idea. Maybe it was the fact that Negi's training was _brutal_, and that Guiche had only survived because Negi never really gave him a chance to quit.

Then again, maybe it'd be good exercise, it could help her build discipline, with a bit of luck. Since she seemed so entranced by Negi, Tabitha was actually confident that Kirche would go through with it and at least give it a couple tries before giving up. It'd be fun to watch, at the very least. Still silent, Tabitha returned to her book.

"That's it! I'll begin training with Darling! Then I'll grow even closer to him and maybe I can make him show me his _skills_!"

Tabitha shivered. There was something utterly _wrong_ about the way Kirche said skills. It made the little dragon rider fear for her maidenhood, for some reason. She was also utterly and completely intrigued by that turn of events.

Yeah, that was the only reason she put up with Kirche. Well, _besides_ being a really good friend once you get past the 'She's a total slut/whore that may or may not be bisexual' part. Despite the sexual harassment at times, Kirche made sure to make every afternoon turn to perverted, sexy hilarity.

"And then, working together, we will awaken that poor repressed soul, Louise!"

The mere thought of that caused Tabitha to actually find herself incapable of continuing her train of thought. Would Kirche really do that? Tabitha had known that it wasn't hatred that had ever moved Kirche, at least not towards the Valliere girl, and yeah, Kirche seemed to have only the 'friend' and 'object of lust' categories, but... It was still odd, no matter how many times she heard it, to hear confirmation from the source.

"And of course, don't think we forgot about you, Tabitha! I promise you will love every second of it!"

Somehow, Tabitha managed to trip over her attempt at indifferent silence.

"All four of us, at the same time!"

"I will be in my room." Tabitha commented, standing up and taking the villain exit to the left, while the author wiped the blood off his keyboard, making sure to keep a napkin preventing further blood flow.

Kirche smirked, pumped her fist and did a small dance. "I knew it would work! Negi owes me five new gold!" Then she looked up at the sky, and her expression changed to one of wonder. "Ah! The eclipse is beginning!"

The moons were already covering half the sun.

Louise stared at the golem that was blocking their passage with a smirk on her face.

"Ahem, Louise?" Henrietta said, gesturing towards the golem. "Would you?"

"At once!" Louise replied, then she got an idea. So he wanted to show her up, huh? Well... She would show _him_. "_Veniant, spiritus aeriales fulgurientes, cum fulgurationi flet tempestas austrina! Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens!_"

Doing it again was a million times simpler. The energy flowed without fault to the tip of her wand, and the moment she screamed the spell's name, the swirling beam erupted from it. The drain was still ginormous, but at least she showed Fouquet her power.

She could still hear her yelling obscenities in the distance.

However, in her glee, Louise didn't see a dagger wielding man approach her, the dagger going for her throat, not giving her time to unleash even a single word, the man simply leaped forward. However, before even Henrietta had time to scream a warning, the man was hit by a stalagmite erupting from the ground, which sent him flying.

"Ah, I'm sure Master Negi would say you need more training to not be distracted like that." A blond man said, smirking proudly. A fireball seemed to be heading towards the back of his head, but before it could get there, a stream of water clashed against it.

"Heh. Look who's talking." Montmorency commented.

"Ah, I trust you to have my back, Montmorency." Guiche said, still smirking. "And my trust is well placed, don't you think?"

Louise chuckled. "How did you actually get her to join?" the pinkette asked, as the troops bought them time by engaging in melee with the enemy. At this point, spells would be counter effective as they'd hit both sides.

"The speech was..." She didn't really need to elaborate. Louise had been there. A lot of people had signed up from that.

Guiche smiled. "I got lucky." He added, before waving his rose wand and producing a sword from the ground. Louise looked at Montmorency, who was glaring at Guiche, wondering what he meant.

And then a dust cloud erupted as Negi hit the ground. "I brought a present." He said, tossing the unconscious Wardes to the ground. "Do with him as you will. He will never be able to fight again, either way. Time to bring down the ship... Though that thing is tough as nails."

Negi sighed, then took a deep breath as glowing lines began making their presence apparent on his body. He jumped into the air. The vessel was massive, and it seemed to have insanely powerful enchantments on it. Bringing it down wouldn't be easy. Without a word, two thousand lightning bolts began to run through his veins. Lightning cracked, and the God Of Lightning was made manifest again.

With his power at its peak, he only had one more thing to do. Unleash the thrown lightning and the thousand thunderbolts, combine. Form, spear of god, the slayer of titans. "**Διος Λογχη Τιτανοκτονον**!"

The favored weapon of the God Of Lightning flew through the air, leaving behind itself a trail of sparks. The lance embedded itself against the warship's hull. Negi narrowed his eyes. It was even tougher than he'd expected. _"Emittens Dios Logche, Khiliplen Astrapen producam."_

However, even after the Thousand Bolts exploded, it only rocked the vessel barely, creating a relatively small hole on one of its sides. Were it a sea faring vessel, it'd be enough to sink it, but as it was in the air, it only disrupted its balance for a few seconds. He had to bring that thing down, but... "How?"

"Partner, we both know how to bring that thing down." Derflinger commented. Only then did Negi notice the sword was in his left hand, which was glowing brightly with his lightning. So there was only one real way to take it down after all.

Maybe he should just let the battle run its natural course... But... no. No, its cannons were shredding the ground troops. It wasn't something that could be left alone for long.

"Derflinger, are you positive that whatever spell the runes will spontaneously teach Louise will be enough to take the vessel down?" Negi asked, holding the sword up.

"One hundred percent, partner." Derflinger replied, its voice reflecting confidence.

"I guess there isn't much of a choice. As long as that thing is around, we aren't going to win this battle, are we?" He said, sighing. "Well... I guess I can give Louise a present." Besides, he was certain he could continue to hold off the runes without any problems. He'd held Magia Erebea back, and there was no way the runes could compare to THAT.

Still in lightning form, he zipped back to the spot he'd left Louise at, his lightning form breaking like glass as he touched the ground. He let the runes run free, take control. She didn't even have time to be shocked when she began to feel the power swirling as her sight glued itself to the glowing runes in Negi's left hand.

And then all objections, compunctions, anything was missing as power ran through his veins, everywhere, his senses becoming sharper and more focused with every passing second. There were only two things. Enemies and allies. The enemies were attacking the allies. The enemies were attacking the master. The enemies had to die. The master had to be protected at all costs.

"That kind of warrior... they call a Demon."

Defeat the enemy. Kill the enemy. Eat the enemy. These were the most basic, intrinsic rules that he had. Nothing else matters. Survival is everything. Everything is trying to kill you. You have to survive. To survive, you must kill everyone before tyhey can kill you.

However, his one true desire was none of them. His true desire was to protect.

Protect. It was that which the runes latched on to. That which was enforced with the Runes' power. A directive that he could not ignore under any circumstances. He never would, in either case, because it was his nature to try to protect the people he loves.

Protect the master above everything else. That was the first rule. Protect master, then kill the enemy.

Countless arrows headed towards the master and her allies, so he intercepted them. Derflinger's joy was noticeable as the sword slashed through the air, the razor sharp air that followed the slash disintegrating even the steel in the arrows.

''"Sim Tua Pars"''

The master's power flowed through his veins. Nothing would come close, as he hit the ground with his fist as hard as he could, creating a large crater where an unfortunate warrior could have been. Simply proof of strength, telling everyone to back away from the master while she casted. Foolish enemies came forward, but were all intercepted by him.

Defend. Defend. Perfect Defense. Block everything. No matter how many spells they launch, everything hits the perfect shield. He was the immortal shield that would defend until the end of time.

However, the sight of red brought him back to reality. The sight of red staining him made him blink, made him think and stop. He had to stop his eyes from flowing on. He looked around himself, at the multiple, lethally injured people around him. Panic began to set in. It couldn't be. He couldn't have...

And then the world was engulfed in white, the light of destruction leaving only death and a desolate wasteland in its wake.

Well, that, a shipwreck and the cheering army of Tristain. As well as a pinkette who was not going to wake up any time soon. After all, her familiar's arms were the place she slept in most frequently, anyway.

* * *

**Omake: The Dark Evangel Descends**

Evangeline folded her hands over her chest. The spell she had been working on was complete. As soon as the Boya came back, she'd give him the asskicking of his life for leaving her like his father. Yeah.

Though why she'd spent so long designing a spell to imitate Forced Relocation was something she'd never admit, the spell's purpose was clear. She just had to make sure his blasted Magic Resistance wouldn't get in the way.

The vampire was old. Old enough to consider herself capable of just laying back and enjoying her free time when she had it. It was because she knew she was **THE** baddest motherf*#$&/ out there, with the cloaked jackass dead.

She was, as a result, highly careless. Enough that she almost didn't see Albireo push her with a gravity well against the portal that had formed out of nowhere. She at least got the pleasure of flipping him off the whole way.

* * *

Negi felt that unimaginably powerful force as soon as the moons aligned, and his blood ran cold. Louise, seeing his face pale, didn't lose a moment to ask him what was wrong.

"We are dead." Negi said, plainly. "Dead men be we. If I had to invent a new word to say how dead we are, I'd go with Cadaverrific. We are _so_ dead I can't even begin to describe how dead we are. Do you understand what I'm saying, Louise? The most powerful being of my world is coming. And she's coming _for me_."

"What, what do you mean?"

Then a little girl walked up to the column, a doll in one hand. Most people would've gone 'D'awww' if not for the fact that she was wearing something that Kirche would blush at. "I found you, Negi." Evangeline said, her voice smooth, velvety, feminine and of course scary as all hell. Being still locked into the form of a ten year old, Evangeline was nothing too impressive, even if her clothes made most of the column go red in an instant.

That's what happens when you only wear a skirt that doesn't actually cover your underwear and a top that might as well be spray painted on.

"Huh? That's all?" Louise asked.

"Oh hi Evangeline." Negi said, sweating bullets. "... What brings you to this lovely forest?"

Henrietta seemed confused, but remained otherwise silent. There was something _way_ off with the little girl, though she couldn't place her finger on what. It went beyond the obvious warning signals. It was something as if her basic nature was telling her to run the hell away and don't look back.

"Oh, nothing much. I just thought I could go out for a drink." She licked her lips. "But you know me, I like playing with my food."

"Aw... crap..."

* * *

"Okay, just this once, I will help you out of the mess you dug yourself into, Boya." Mostly because she couldn't bear to let him dirty his hands further. That innocence that never finished dying was something Evangeline actually treasured, even if it was one of the more glaring differences between him and his father.

Nagi had never been an innocent.

"Ah, more allies have come to our aid, then." Henrietta finished summing up.

"Sit back and watch how the adults play, children." The Dark Evangel spoke as she jumped down from the horse she'd been riding with Negi. Louise shot her a dirty look at seeing how her touch lingered in the areas women were not supposed to freely touch in public.

* * *

"Oh. Shit." Cromwell said, his eyes widening as he saw the gigantic iceberg slowly heading his way. "That was unexpected."

Fouquet turned to Wardes. "I have to say... I think the bandages look good on you."

"Similarly, I have to say that black lace _does_ really suit you." The bearded man replied.

"It's been a pleasure to see you get the crap beaten out of you."

"Likewise."

* * *

Yep. I just wrote that.


	18. Tonight, Someone Gets Lucky

**Author's Note!  
**

Woah. You guys should've read the whole chapter. The Omake was noncanonical since it CLEARLY couldn't have happened. Given that Negima has multiple timelines, however, you can be assured that it DID happen in one of them...

If you're asking why the Thousand Thunderbolts seemed so weak, it wasn't the Thousand Thunderbolts. It was releasing the spell in Dios Logche Titanoktonon. Concentrated destruction instead of wide area meant the spell packs more of a punch with a reduced area of effect. Even then, the warship was given magical steroids. Because Cromwell would obviously want to know about the ludicrously powerful mage that reduced Fouquet's golems to shreds and beat the shizle out of Wardes with his bare hands and would try to act accordingly to counter him since it was obvious that if Tristain had such a ludicrously powerful individual in their country, they'd use him in the incoming war.

SeanHicks4: Makes sense, I guess.

* * *

**Extra: Wha- Why- How?**

"S'up, Asuna-san."

Asuna blinked. Then she pointed at the grave, then at him. Then back at the grave. Then she tackled him, leaving a trail of destruction behind her at the sheer speed she'd leapt at. "You... You jerkass! You made me believe you were dead!"

The sound of laughing was followed by a resounding crack, and then another. And then Negi was still laughing, in a crater. "Oi, Asuna-san, if you stay there, someone might misunderstand."

"I missed you a lot you jerk, I'm entitled to it!"

"True enough, I guess." Asuna groaned as she felt his arms wrap around her, but responded by crushing his ribs instead. "I missed you too."

"His Majesty is under attack!"

Asuna didn't have quite enough time to concentrate on anything as a spell fizzled next to her. "... The hell?" It seemed her powers worked just fine. She still backed away from Negi and allowed him to stand, because stradling him was sort of uncomfortable. He had grown larger than her.

Negi waved a hand, and the staff wielding guards stood down. The blonde girl that had actually brought Asuna to the graveyard skipped merrily to join them, smiling as Negi petted her on the head. "I'm sorry about lying to you, miss." The girl said, smiling slightly. "But... Dad can't really be seen in public."

"... Dad?"

"Well... many things happened. In short, I discovered a new world after I got abducted into it, became a familiar, earned being called my mother's successor, became King of Vespertatia, then I established a democracy, and... Well, been working with the International Solar System Development Agency."

"Still not explaining the important bits, Negi."

"I should begin with what happened ever since you left. It all started one May Twelve evening, when I was feeling kind of down. Kotaro tried to punch some sense into me, but when he didn't succeed, the girls gathered and tried to cheer me up by taking me to a theme park. It didn't work like they expected, and since I was kind of a zombie at the time, Chisame took me home..."

Thinking that it'd be a better idea than to go about it like that, Negi made a few calls and arranged for a few friends to come over.

—

"... And that's pretty much it."

Asuna, eyes wide as saucers, was still trying to make sense of it, having tasked the Twilight Imperial Princess within her to create a chart detailing his relationships for her. She gave up about halfway through. It was just too much of a mess.

"And I will get to marry daddy when I come of age!"

Then Asuna recalled something important. "Wait... If you're his descendant, then shouldn't you be... you know..."

"I am thirty two years old." The little girl replied, almost making Asuna's eyes bulge out of their sockets. "Well... that is without counting all the time I've spent on Aunt Eva's resort..."

"But... that doesn't make sense... Magia Erebea didn't stop _you_ from growing like normal." Asuna said, turning to Negi.

"Well... Ayaka wanted to have a child, though she was too old to be capable of having a child of her own, so she was the first test subject of an, at the time, experimental rejuvenation procedure that was only made possible after the total union of magic and technology thirty six years ago."

"We never did get it to work properly. I could explain it to you in length, but you wouldn't understand it, yo." Chao pointed out.

"You're probably right."

Meanwhile, Chao giggled slightly. "I can still return you to a life of normalcy, you know." She said, taking a sip of her tea and raising the Cassiopeia as she did so. A rather nice pocket watch, truth be told. Something everyone in her family had as a shared trait was the fact that not a single one of them would ever say no to a cup of tea. It was the undeniable mark that she had Springfield blood. And it was noticeable because it was her third cup. To be fair, she wasn't anywhere near Negi's nine cups.

"Are you kidding? Hell, I'll miss everyone, but after hearing what you've told me, I don't think I'll ever be able to look at them the same way again. I mean, I never knew..."

"Oh, there are plenty of things you didn't know. And there are plenty of things we made up on the spot."

"Master is lying." Chachamaru pointed out, much to Evangeline's chagrin. "Everything has been corroborated with Negi and other witnesses' memories. Multiple times. It's a very popular movie series, actually."

"... A pornographic movie series?" Asuna asked, narrowing her eyes. Then she turned to Negi. "You star in a series of pornos?" She asked, incredulous.

Negi looked at her, his face a cross between embarrassed and deadpan. "Not by choice. Haruna commercialized the videos. I didn't have the heart to sue. Rakan-san approved of them..." Negi said, scratching the back of his neck and smiling sheepishly.

"Only you'd be surprised, Kagurazaka, to know that our standards differ from a hundred years ago.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 18: Mating Season!

"Somehow, I think I should be doing something else right now." Evangeline said, suddenly feeling like something was off. Like she had to be somewhere else.

Ignoring that feeling, she went back to the drawing board, cursing all the way. That's what she had the boy for, to figure out the kinks of ludicrously complicated spells for her.

* * *

Louise woke up after the battle was over. The remnants of Reconquista were quickly routed and captured and even though it seemed like Cromwell was nowhere in sight, Wardes had been captured. To her, that was an immense victory, because seeing the asshole that had betrayed her reduced to a war prisoner was very cathartic.

Ignoring the pain that moving her still asleep muscles brought, she continued to walk on toward the spot where Negi usually met with Guiche and Montmorency for their training sessions, only to find Guiche wielding a larger than usual sword, while Montmorency seemed focused on a stance that left her completely open to attack, while Negi had both of his eyes closed and was unarmed.

Since he was teaching Guiche swordplay, it was a rare sight.

"What's going on?" She heard a voice ask.

"Kirche?"

"Ah, Valliere, I came here to see if Darling could teach me how to be a better battlemage, but he seems so concentrated that I didn't want to distract them."

She was right. Negi was impossibly concentrated. His eyes opened, and did not stray a millimeter from the weapon in the blond's hands. He didn't seem to even register anything else, his eyes following Guiche's movements as both blonds went on the offensive. It was odd. Negi was not usually so emotionless, or at least he wasn't trying so hard to repress his emotions.

Mostly because he always felt, for lack of a better term, warm, and right now he was cold. Louise frowned.

When Guiche tried to slash at Negi's shoulder, the red haired mage slapped the flat side of Guiche's large weapon and knocked him away, but didn't move from his position. Montmorency didn't waste her time, bringing a hail of icicles from behind Negi into form. The redhead merely rolled out of the way, forcing Montmorency to dispel them before they struck Guiche.

Negi didn't have time to get back on his feet as what looked like four floating obsidian blades centered in his position, trying to slash him to ribbons. He jumped over them, and once they converged at where he would have been, he stepped on them and jumped again, landing back.

"Attack, attack, attack! Don't give me time to breathe!" Negi commanded, his voice sounding notably more distant than usual.

Guiche followed the command and began launching attacks, but none of them even came close to touching Negi. While the blond's blade wasn't much more than a blur to Louise's eyes, Negi didn't even blur. He seemed to fluidly move and dodge every single one of Guiche's moves, while not using the tremendous speed he was best known for.

Merely evading on skill, on being capable of predicting where the attack would come from and reacting to it before it was launched. "Work as a team! You aren't taking turns! Fight together!" Negi barked again, planting a palm on Guiche's chest and pushing him away with that light tap. And by that, I mean flinging him away like he'd just been hit by a log.

A large pillar of water descended on Negi with Montmorency's shout of "Magna Cataracta!", but all he did was simply dash forward as what had to be a freaking _waterfall_ hit the ground behind him, only managing to wet the tails of his coat.

"You should have attacked me right as I countered! You two still have poor coordination! You need to get used to each other's cues to predict when the other is going to attack. Relying on conversation or telepathy in the middle of a fight may prove fatal if you are distracted!"

Guiche winced as he pressed a hand to his chest. That had really hurt. Whatever Negi had used seemed like an immensely strong punch given by the wind itself rather than his fist. Maybe it was that strange ability he had of delaying spells and unleashing them all at once. He didn't seem to use it often, but most of his magic worked that way.

Yet... why did that feel so weak? Usually, the pain was lasting, reminding Guiche that he was punished for making a mistake, motivating him not to make that mistake again. But now, it just felt like he'd been punched.

The last time that they had checked, Negi could still crush his bones with a single punch.

The sword in his hand vanished, to be replaced by a far smaller one. It only took a small wave from the handle, which was Guiche's wand itself, the rose part still sticking out from the bottom. If a large weapon was too slow to hit, then a small one should be more manageable. It was only proof to Kirche that his training WAS indeed proving effective. Guiche was _fast_. Nowhere near as fast and skilled as Negi, of course, but still enough to be impressive from the incompetent little git he used to be.

Montmorency took Negi's advice to heart, as she unleashed a water whip she tried to tie to Negi to slow him down as well as spamming small barrages of water arrows, all of which done only to distract him and let Guiche's sword hit.

"... Hey, darling, can I train with you?"

Negi put a barrier between himself and Guiche, causing the three women to giggle as the blond smashed nose first against it and bounced back, nursing his wound while screaming about his tarnished beauty.

"Ah, sorry, I didn't notice you there." Negi said, smiling at them. Even Louise could tell that it was a horrible fake of a smile. Something was bothering Negi and it had been clear from the start of the fight. Louise had seen him train them many times, and he had never been so hesitant to attack. When he hit, he hit _hard_, yet here he was treating them with kid's gloves. "And I welcome any who want to." He added, pretty much an open invitation.

Louise glared at him for a second, then decided she'd pursue the issue later.

Although she could have sworn that his grin went from fake to sinister in under a second. "Ah, Master. I will begin training you now."

Not an option? Somehow, Louise stiffened, feeling her blood run cold. Even Kirche seemed taken aback.

"Your power is impressive, but you have absolutely no idea how to control it and no matter how powerful you are, if you can't use that power then it's useless." He explained. "I want all four of you to fight me. At once."

"But that's too much, even for you, darling!"

Montmorency, Guiche and Louise all burst out laughing. "Yeah, no." Montmorency said, everyone else confirmed it with a nod. "Just remember to write your will before this."

It only dawned on Kirche after Negi stopped being so passive and actually began fighting back just how truly horrible the training was. After all, even when all four of them were attacking him at the same time, not only they couldn't touch him, he could hit them without any problem.

And Kirche had always thought Guiche and Montmorency exaggerated whenever they were hit. A bit. She knew Negi hit hard. She just didn't know _how_ hard. She had a newfound respect for the two tortured blonds after the first spar ended with all four of them on the ground, utterly broken. A quick few healing spells had them back on their feet.

The pain wasn't gone, but they had energy, and as Guiche had demonstrated before, as long as you could, you stood up and fought. Though seeing him actively block every single spell so they didn't destroy the courtyard was actually kind of fun. The thrill of exerting everything she had at once was something neither Kirche or Louise experienced frequently.

And while it hurt like hell at first, a few healing spells got rid of most of the soreness. Apparently, Negi took great care to make his attacks painful as hell, but not truly harmful. Something that Kirche didn't know what to think about. At least he had the courtesy to heal them to stop any lingering soreness or pain, even if all four of them ended up far weaker than usual.

It came with being beat up. The pain was numbed, but the muscles were still trying to recuperate.

As it was, she just enjoyed the fact that she was sinking in her bathtub, and it felt utterly wonderful to do so. She cursed the fact that she'd scheduled several dates in the incoming hours, mostly because she'd have to stand up. Eating her discomfort, she began to rinse the soap off in a manner that would have all of her dates drooling liters.

Everyone else?

"... You look pained, Louise Françoise." Henrietta said, clear worry in her voice. Louise just kept smiling on and implied she'd explain at a later date.

Henrietta turned towards Negi, hidden in the crowd of nobles, for a second. The familiar wouldn't ever let any harm come to her, or so he said. Had he broken the promise? No. The man was a King of his word, and if nothing else, she was inclined to trust him that much, even breaking all of his moral objections if it came down to protecting a friend.

So, she merely gave the three their medals and decided she'd inquire about that later. There were also other things she wanted to talk with Negi about in private, because he had proven his worth as an ally in combat and she would take care of an asset as important as he and his master were.

* * *

Negi took several steps back. "Not you, too..." He said, his smile now faltering.

"Come on, you _knew_ that it wouldn't fool me of all people."

Two redheads found themselves separated from the world in the female's room. He'd at first thought of it as a haven to hide from a pinkette who seemed hell bent on probing him for information regarding his mental state. It seemed that his façade wasn't as convincing as he hoped it would be. At least Henrietta had allowed him some time before their next meeting allowed her to question him.

"Besides, darling, it's clear that you're not putting much behind your smile. It's hollow. You need to work more." Kirche spoke, nodding to herself. "Now, maybe I can help you, if you just tell me what's bothering you."

Negi's smile turned sad in an instant. Even if the façade hadn't been convincing, Kirche had to agree with Negi on the fact that she'd rather see that than see Negi looking as troubled as he did right then and there. "I fight to protect those that I love, Kirche... I don't like hurting, much less killing people."

"Which means you don't like fighting... But that isn't what's bothering you." The redhead bombshell spoke, sitting down on her queen sized bed. Negi chose to remain on his feet in front of her.

Negi sighed. "Indeed..." He said, frowning outright now. "I love fighting people stronger than myself. I love feeling the thrill that a battle gives me. But this... wasn't even a fight. If at any point I had wanted to, I could have killed everyone there with ease."

Kirche wasn't surprised. Not after seeing him so casually hold off two battle mages, a mage knight in training and _a freaking void mage_. The casualty count, for both sides, was actually rather low, as Tristain had had next to no losses and Albion only had a token ground force that got wiped out, and even then, Negi hadn't killed anyone.

If anything, he had probably prevented many deaths by taking out the Dragon Knights without killing either the rider or the dragons, and he'd, although brutally, knocked out a rather large portion of Albion's troops.

It was a given that that wasn't what would be bothering him. What was bothering him was the fact that he had actually killed several men who'd attacked Louise as she chanted a spell. According to Guiche, Negi displayed brutally tremendous and tremendously brutal efficiency in disposing of those individuals, inflicting fear even in his own forces in the process. It was a given that the men he'd attacked didn't survive.

Some were outright shredded.

"... I killed them! Mercilessly, brutally! I didn't bother just disabling them, even though I could! I could have resisted the runes' influence, I am stronger than this, only because I let myself get carried away, I just showed my true colors! That is what I truly am like! A monster that destroys the livin-"

Kirche slapped him, rather harshly, with a sweet smile on her face. "Darling, I love you and you are quite intelligent, but you can be one hell of an idiot when you want to. You are not a monster, you were only protecting your friend, weren't you? If you hadn't attacked them, they'd have attacked and killed Louise, then walked away without a care in the world, without an ounce of guilt in their hearts, and even would pridefully boast about killing her to their comrades." She said, her voice not wavering for an instant.

Negi looked at her, his face somewhat relieved. "Thank you for that." He said, taking a deep breath. "I..." The sheer sadness in his voice was almost heartrending, so much so that it made Kirche laugh out loud.

"You what? You protected your master, that's all, Darling." Kirche said, showing she didn't have a worry at all, even though she knew she was standing in front of a massively powerful being who could kill her at any second. "Besides, a monster wouldn't be worrying about something like this, right?"

"You... You are right." It was only because of her understanding and kind tone that he could actually channel the words that he had, so long ago, taken to heart. "I just have to grab this, press it against my chest, and keep walking on. I'm... really sorry for breaking down like this. Thank you, I really needed to get it off my chest."

Kirche waved his concerns off, giggling noticeably. And perversely. Again, good noblewoman's laugh. "You could show me how thankful you are..." She said, crossing her legs, making it very obvious what her intent was. She ran a hand over her long, long leg, the hand caressing the dark, soft skin as she did so. "I know I will never be the first one in your heart, but I wouldn't mind being the first one in your pants..."

With a sultry smile, she pulled one of her slippers off, and then she uncrossed her legs, only to cross them again, this time offering her leg to her visitor, who smirked, a slight, if noticeable, blush on his face. Kirche giggled before matching his smirk.

The redheads' smirks mirrored each other. "Oh, Miss Zerbst, I never knew you'd be in the mood." His blush intensified as he grabbed a hold of her leg with slow, calculated motions.

He pulled the slipper off, taking time to do it as delicately as possible, closing the distance between them as he did so, a charming smile plastered on his face. They both knew why they were doing it.

"Well, Mister Springfield, I say there's never a time as good as the present." Kirche said, giggling as she saw Negi's face still beet red. It seemed that willpower was the only thing stopping him from becoming a blushing, flustered and embarrassed mess that could not satisfy her.

Even if it was only for a little while, forgetting the pains that living on the real world brought made their short lived fantasy worth it. It helped that Kirche knew that no matter how skilled and experienced he was, he still got flustered quite easily and couldn't look at her straight for more than two seconds without getting embarrassed. It only made the stark contrast between that and when he was taken over by his instincts that much more hilarious in hindsight. He was all of what he'd said and perhaps even more.

To be fair, so was she.

* * *

Tabitha's head snapped up. Then she focused on her book again. "... Won't sleep tonight." She muttered, a hint of annoyance on her voice. Really, would it be so difficult for Kirche to _not_ bring her 'friends' during the time she was reading? And if she was back on the market with such reckless abandon, then it was most certain that she'd go on until the night.

Maybe she was fired up after her first training session. It made her want to check it out for herself. After all, while she wouldn't say so unless prompted, she was actually kind of worried about Kirche. Negi's training was more than a bit brutal, she'd seen, and Kirche, while combat capable, was most decidedly not a battle mage that would endure those kinds of rigorous training.

It was also starting to hit her how fast Guiche and Montmorency had progressed from two bit mages to being as combat capable as a triangle-class battlemage. It wasn't something she could easily ignore.

So, as she got back to the climax of the story in her hands, she tried her harder to ignore the other rather obvious climax.

Although it was odd, for her. She was sure she recognized the man's voice, muffled as it was...

Nah, couldn't be.

* * *

Louise _almost_ decided to bang on Kirche's door while looking for her familiar, but the weird sounds coming from it deterred her. Well, she'd knock some sense into the idiot who didn't want to talk about his problems later.

* * *

"It's because of you that I couldn't see him today!" Siesta said, looking at a cross between genuinely angry and somewhat amused. The chef seemed to shrink into himself, muttering an apology. She'd only had a short break, and that contributed to her having a bad day. The rest was mostly on having to run around like crazy.

"Marteau, you're a dick, man!" One of the dishwashers spoke, although it was clear he was playful at doing so. "Siesta here has been pining after Negi for quite a while now, and you shot her chances today!"

The chef laughed sheepishly. "Sorry! But since our workload has only increased recently, I had to ask her to work during her break."

"It's alright, I understand." Siesta said, sighing. "Well, I lost the chance to see him train today, but he should still be in the library at this hour..."

Marteau, the head chef, a rather large and imposing man, towered above Siesta. "Then, go, girl! Don't let him get away!" He commanded, shoving Siesta out of the kitchens, as the maid happily ran to find Negi. It was already dark, though, so it was most possible that she would catch him leaving.

However, when she did find him, they spent a few hours in the library, mostly idly chatting. He admitted to having gotten sidetracked doing something earlier and that he would remain until late in the library to make up for his deficiency.

She was more than happy to keep him company, even if she'd regret that in the morning. And to serve as audience for his lecture. It was something else to hear him give a lecture. Somehow, every movement, every intonation and inflection, everything he did seemed to just draw her further into the material he was explaining.

It helped that he seemed so enthusiastic to describe magical theory that would have normally flown right over her head. "I'm sorry if I'm slowing your studies down by asking for explanations..." She said, smiling a bit as Negi took a breather.

"Not at all. I wasn't going anywhere by myself anyway. And when you are trying to explain something to someone who doesn't know anything about it, you tend to think your words through, break them down and analyze them step by step. This helps me further understand what I am talking about by making me overthink it." Negi explained, again slipping into lecture mode. "And... I really don't want to be alone right now. Thank you for keeping me company, Siesta."

Siesta blushed at his smile. It was ludicrous, how much he made her want to tear apart all of her restraints and just take him right then and there. Then again, there wasn't anyone else in the library, and given that he had proven quite willing, maybe she could do it, just this once? Just one simple indiscretion, to sate her curiosity?

She stood up from the chair she'd been occupying and stepped closer to him. Negi blinked, then looked at her, instead of at the ceiling while he still pondered how to explain her about mana currents and how they could be manipulated to create a link between two places with similar flows.

"Uhm... Negi..."

The man just smiled, cupped her chin and tilted her face up, forcing her to look at him in the face. "What is it, Siesta?" He smiled at her, with that stupidly charming smile of his. She just wanted to bask in the closeness, maybe bring them further closer together...

"Can... Can you..."

He dropped his hand. "Siesta... It is your choice. If you wish..." he said, blushing intensely. It was odd. She knew that he had a lot of experience in this regard, yet he seemed so... innocent at that point, that it almost felt wrong to press herself against him. It seemed that direct body to body contact would _always_ get a rise out of him.

She smiled to herself. It really was entertaining to see him blush like that. "No... Not today. I have to go to sleep now, and Miss Valliere will be worried if you take too long."

It hit Negi like a ton of bricks. "Oh, right, Master must be worried since she didn't see me all day!"

Truth be told, seeing him fret was also quite entertaining, though for a different reason. He picked everything up, placed it back where it belonged and then left, all in a whirlwind. It felt as if someone had hit the fast forward button on a VCR, though Siesta didn't know what the hell either of those were, she still giggled to herself.

Imagining him doing that same thing while wearing a maid uniform did wonders to send her into a fit of giggles as she went back on her way.

* * *

Louise received him with an eerily calm and serene smile. Negi's blood froze. "Uhm... Master, is everything alright?" Well... she didn't seem eerie or dissonantly serene, in fact, she just seemed calm. Maybe he had just been expecting her to be angry about something.

"Where were you, Negi?" She asked, her smile turning into a frown. "I was worried sick when I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Ah, after we parted I went with Kirche to her room, then I went to the library for most of the day." And by 'We Parted' he meant 'I ran away 'cause I didn't want to answer your questions'.

Louise's mind was already connecting the dots, but nothing showed outwardly. "You seem happy. Did something interesting happen?"

Negi shook his head, taking a seat on a chair that he swore was trying to eat him. "Well, I talked with Siesta until the end of the night."

Louise's eyebrow raised. "So, not only with Zerbst, but with the maid, too?" She asked, sounding completely neutral. The god of lightning felt his blood turn to ice at that point, and, hadn't he been a gentleman, he would've felt the need to go 'Oh Shit.' As it was, it was only thought, though the need to shriek like a little girl was rising.

"... What?" Negi asked, tentatively.

The noble girl didn't seem to show any outwardly violent instinct, and that was what frightened Negi more than anything. He knew how a Tsundere works. If she wasn't exploding in anger, then she was truly angered or actually saddened, and he didn't want to think he'd hurt Louise enough that she'd be so angry.

"Why?" She asked, folding her arms over her non existent chest. "Why..." she echoed, falling into her bed and hugging her knees.

"Why what, Master?" Concern for her had him rushing to her side, but she shrugged his hands away when he tried to place them on her shoulders.

"Why them and not me? Why do you love them, but not me?"

Negi faltered, then he blinked at Louise, pulled himself back to a standing position and outright burst out laughing.

"What?" insulted as insulted could be, Louise stood up, still atop the bed, and went to fetch her wand.

"That is your concern? If you need me to say it again, Master, then I will. I love you, Master."

She already had the weapon held in front of Negi's face and the incantations to both Explosion and Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens in her mind.

"B-But you love Zerbst more than me! Because she has giant breasts!"

Negi shook his head. "I don't love her more than you, silly, and I can assure you that the size of her breasts does not matter to me. I thought you knew me, Master." To be frank, so did Louise. "If you wish for me to do what I did to Kirche, you need just ask. However, I can tell you outright that just doing it because she did is not a good enough reason."

"B-But still, you went with Zerbst when I explicitly told you not to! I know I can't order royalty around but... I thought... I thought you'd listen to me if I asked you to..." The pinkette said, still pointing her wand at his chest, wavering ever so slightly.

"Louise... I... I'm sorry if it offends you. I really am. It was a moment of weakness."

She knew that he was not only strength. Nobody could be. Well, except her mother, but dammit if her mother wasn't even more inhuman than her familiar. "... I... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have reacted like this. You are a person, a human being..." Louise said, taking a deep breath. "But did it have to be Kirche?" she asked, trying to calm herself down. She was only mildly successful. "And the maid, too?"

"Ah, if you're afraid I did that with Siesta too, don't be, Master. Siesta did not want to yet."

"Yet?" Louise said, raising one eyebrow suspiciously.

"... Just as I will accommodate you when you feel you are ready, I will do the same for her."

"Every time you remind me of it, I can only think that I don't know if you are a gentleman, a monstrously powerful mage or simply an overpowered prostitute." Louise said, her palm breaking the laws of physics to teleport to her forehead with a resounding crack. She was seriously beginning to hate the fact that she hadn't blown him up, because it reminded her that she was getting used to having a manwhore of a familiar.

"Sorry, Master." Negi said, smiling sheepishly. "It's just the way I am. If I can make it up to you, though..." he added, while she sighed and calmed down.

"Let's... Let's just go to sleep, okay? I'll deal with this tomorrow."

She pulled the covers and got herself comfortable... then looked pointedly at Negi. "Master, you fear that I might touch you in your sleep?" He asked, incredulous.

Louise blushed, but Negi couldn't understand why she would. Unbeknownst to him, she was actually thinking something along those lines, though she couldn't decide whether she'd like it or not yet. Stupid familiar, making her perverted. At times, it seemed like he was cooperating with Kirche to get her to become as perverted as they were.

"Just come here already..." She muttered, looking aside.

It was a mystery how he could discard the coat so easily, when it seemed like such a heavy and difficult to wear garment. And while the metallic reinforcement of the pants (a necessity with the speed at which he moved) was a bit annoying, they'd agreed that he'd keep them on during the night.

Mostly Negi's urging to do so, though. Louise really didn't care either way. It wasn't like she was afraid of seeing her familiar in his underwear. And that wasn't a confession to actually wanting to see that, no sir.

She'd gotten plenty of looks when forcing that bustier on him, anyway. Hey, that had been fun. Maybe she could convince him to try crossdressing again? She'd have to ask that maid that always hanged around him if they could get an uniform in his size.

Negi felt a shiver run through his spine, though he didn't know why, as Louise made herself comfortable.

And Louise smiled when she began to feel the sleep creeping up. She was just too comfortable in her bed. Sure, Kirche might have actually laid with her familiar once, but she'd never felt what it was to sleep with him by her side, and as long as Louise had a say in the matter, that was a privilege she wanted to keep for herself. She actually sort of blamed Cattleya for being too kind to her on that regard, getting her used to sleeping within a loved one's embrace. It made her weak.

Who was she kidding? She loved it. In this case, she could quietly ignore the rule of steel.

As sleep loosened her restraints, however, something that would've normally remained a thought was voiced.

"Negi... Can you fight in a dress?"

The question was actually rather surprising, making Negi feel stupified for a second. "I guess so, depending on how much it restricts my movements... why?" He asked, tentatively. He noticed that Louise seemed utterly joyful as she voiced her question, and he realized that something was way off about that question.

"... Nothing... I will tell you... tomorrow..."

And then she was snoring softly. Negi gulped, but decided there wasn't much to dwelling on it anyway.

* * *

**Omake: Lonely Day**

Such a lonely day... Only for him. It was his. It was the most lonely day of his life. Such a stupidly lonely day should not be allowed to be. He couldn't stand it.

A hollow shell walked the halls, a perfect, plastic smile plastered on his face as he greeted his employees, made a few of the females blush and overall lied his way through his morning routine. It wasn't something he was unused to, for he'd carried on for a month.

A month since...

Negi reached his office, locked the door behind him and crashed down. There were no security cameras in his office. A measure he'd made sure to implement because he would never allow anyone to see him break down. He was supposed to be strong, because he wasn't the only one in pain, everyone else was suffering too, and he wouldn't make their pain worse by burdening them with his.

So he had to endure the most lonely day of his life, a day that had lasted a month. Such a lonely day, and it was all for him. A day that he could barely survive.

He never saw the fist that crashed against the side of his face. "Look at yourself." A voice that found itself in the breaking point between maturity and childishness broke through the silence. Damn ninja training allowed him to slip into the room unnoticed.

"... What do you want, Kotaro?" Negi said, standing up, smiling as always.

"Stop smiling like that, it's creeping me the hell out." The wolf boy stated, snarling at him as he did so. "Get your ass in gear, I'm here to pummel you!" Negi blinked, it was rare to see Kotaro with such confidence. After all, the wolf boy had never managed to defeat him. Come close a few times, sure, but he could barely touch Negi at all if he used Duplex Complexio, let alone fight properly.

Kotaro growled as he punched Negi out the window, pouncing on him in mid-air and continuing with a barrage of fists that rattled Negi's bones. When had he gotten so strong?

"I could never defeat Negi Springfield, but this little twerp that took his place? I'll beat the crap out of him!"

Kotaro drew his fist back, and Negi's eyes widened as a rather insane amount of Ki was gathered into it. He'd gotten really good at managing his Ki. Before the redhead could do much of nothing, a devastatingly powerful blow had been unleashed on him, landing squarely on the full demon's cheek.

It was only a miracle that the ISSDA's tower was not at it's intended height yet, or that would've turned him into a splat, which would've been annoying to regenerate from. As it was, he was only dug into a crater.

"Defend yourself, dammit!"

Kotaro merely continued to pummel him, and all Negi could do was simply leap back before Kotaro could finish him off. Why did he feel so weak? Had Kotaro really grown so strong? Before he had a chance to further ponder anything, a black blur slammed into his gut, doubling him over. Not even an instant to recover, Kotaro slammed his heel against the back of Negi's head, sending him back down and into another freshly made crater.

Negi rolled onto his back to avoid the stomp that followed, but Kotaro simply changed targets and hit him squarely in the already damaged stomach, driving what little air Negi had obtained out. The wolf boy then pounced on Negi and began pummeling him again. "Wake up!"

He only gave the redhead a breather to reply. "... I am awake." Was all he said, his voice as hollow as his façade.

However, before the blow that would've knocked him straight out could land, Kotaro stopped, stood up, and turned to leave, leaving Negi stupified. The Springfield could hear him mutter something that went along the lines of. "Tch... You're not yourself." Before Kotaro dealt away with subtlety. "Wake up, man! What planet are you on?"

"W-Wait! Kotaro!" He yelled, springing to his feet. "What do you mean?" He asked, dusting himself off. "I am on Earth!" He finally yelled.

"Then why don't you look around and see that there are people who are worried about you? If you stopped pushing all of us away, maybe we could help you, you dumbass." Kotaro said, turning around to face Negi for a few seconds, his face contorting in anger.

The redhead opened his mouth to reply, before a Ki fist shut it for him.

"Shut up. I thought about killing you a bit, maybe it'd wake you up. But as you are, you might as well be dead anyway." He sneered, again continuing to walk away, only turning around to look at him over his shoulder, a glare of sheer anger on his face. "I thought you were stronger than that. You disappoint me, Negi. You're not worthy of being my rival."

Negi just fell on his ass, coughing and panting. It was odd to be exerted from so little.

"That was way too harsh and violent, but he is right, Master Negi." He heard the distinctly calm voice of one of the people he'd seen fairly infrequently. Most of them had to finish their studies, and the few that had come along with him to help him with his plan were too busy in their own areas of expertise. Since he was no longer their homeroom teacher, his interactions with 3-A as a whole had diminished a lot.

His death a month ago had only further estranged their relationships. But he was still happy to see Yue's face again. "Yue-san..."

"Sensei, we are all here for you. Don't ignore us, because your pain is our pain. I... We can't bear to see you trying to hide all the pain away and pretend you're not hurting. It's okay to be in pain. We all are. But if you simply hide it, it won't go away, it'll remain within you for the rest of your life. We don't want that. None of us..."

He almost didn't see Ayaka pop out of behind a store front. "Don't worry about anything, Negi. We have already made all the necessary arrangements."

The one thing that surprised him, however, was a brown haired girl with rather exaggerated, round glasses simply walk up to him, take his hand and force him to walk away. "Dammit, Asuna, forcing me to do your duties for a hundred years..." She muttered to herself. "Well, brat, we're gonna go have fun whether you like it or not!"

"Ah, wait for us, Chisame-san!"

Having to drag him through a theme park had to be one of the most annoying moments in her life. Though it would pain her to, Chisame had to admit it was the most fun she'd had since her visit to the Magic World.

"Now you get it?" Chisame asked, after having had to drive the zombie to his apartment. "You're overworking yourself to death. Even a day of fun, relaxation and games has exhausted you..."

However, he was already crying, and she wrapped her arms around him, trying to quieten him. He trembled uncontrollably in her arms, sobbing like a grown up baby. But it was okay. It was okay because the strongest man is not afraid to cry. It was in their shared embrace that the two migrated to Negi's bed and stayed there for the night.

Chisame didn't know what had lead to what. All she knew was that if word got out, she would be arrested for that one. That is, if she didn't do herself in banging her head against the wall. He was thirteen, for god's sake, what had possessed her?

However, as she tried to leave the bed, she felt his arms wrap around her once again. "Don't... Please... Don't leave me alone... I don't want to be alone anymore..."

* * *

Haruna's Ero Sense tingled. "Something tells me that this is our lucky week! Negi-sama is in the market, girls!" She said, tapping her chin and grinning like a madman. Yue gulped. Why had she agreed to this, again..? "It's time to make our move! If everything goes as planned, Negi will become the ultimate lover for us all!"

* * *

This omake IS actually canon, takes place three years and change after the timelines separate.

So... Chisame got lucky? In a sense, since she was the first person to get into Negi's pants... In another sense, she'll probably have everyone else trying to kill her in the near future...

Then again, this will only snowball from here, and you know it by how he turned out...

Eight. Thousand. And Twenty Eight. Words. That Is All.


	19. Prelude To The Storm

**Author's No-wait for it-te:  
**Back to the usual chapter length for this one, folks. The few chapters before this one were all too long.

In any case, it's about time I got this posted. Took the whole morning.

Kaizer23: That would be huge spoilers. Though Negi has said before that he knows how to ultimately destroy the contract, and it does not involve killing Louise.

As always, thank you everyone for dem reviews.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 19: The Court Is Not In Session!

Kirche didn't know how to feel about waking up at the ungodly hours of the morning, but given the awesome rest and dreams she'd gotten last night, she wouldn't complain.

Louise was getting better at creating explosions fast and that could actually do some damage. Though she did have to rely on her allies buying her time, it was a massive improvement over having to take a long time to chant for Explosion or Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens. She couldn't manage either spell without a massive power waste yet, but she was getting there.

Having her focus on small emissions of power was the start from which they would go on.

Tabitha had to admit, as she stared at the training from behind her book, that it was nothing short of amazing to see her friends who she once thought would never be quite capable of getting back up after the devastating hits that Negi freely unleashed on them do so. Multiple times, again and again. Sure, they had to get healing spells after every round was over (and no matter how hard they tried, they could never land a hit on him or survive the full fifteen minutes of the round), but their tenacity was nothing short of commendable.

And the blue haired girl could also very easily see that Kirche was wobbly on her legs that morning and didn't seem as well rested as the others. Maybe her latest fling had actually been too much for her? Nah. It was Kirche, she _never_ had enough.

"Ah, Tabitha, why don't you join us?" Guiche said, in his overly dramatic fashion, between pants and heavy breaths. He'd landed not too far from her, and their ten minutes rest period had begun. Negi took that time to display how far they were from his power by training himself.

Tabitha looked at him as he did, and made the very accurate guess that even if she were to get involved, they still wouldn't hit him. Force him to block? Sure, but those demonically fast reflexes would probably be a nightmare to get around, and while she knew of one or two ways to get around them, there was the underlying problem of his Lightning Form. _That_ was fast.

He was a blur with his sword, and every attack was cleanly executed with no wasted movements or unnecessary openings.

"That was great, Partner." Derflinger commented.

"Thank you. Let's move on to the next, shall we?" He asked, a grin on his face.

"Aye. So, with your left foot forward you..."

The sword proceeded to explain one more of the many techniques it knew to Negi, who first executed a slow version to check the movements with Derflinger, and afterward he repeated it a couple times, faster each one. It seemed he had a knack for learning new things, though Derflinger's comments made it apparent that the technique wasn't perfect yet.

Tabitha had enough to guess from that, so, she might as well contribute. See where she stood in the tactical department. "Attack him from the right." She advised. "Coordinate with Louise breaking his barriers with an Explosion, Montmorency and Kirche need to attack the spot right in front of him with wide area attacks. All must be done at the same time."

She wouldn't explain everything in depth, but had been clear, concise and wordy enough that he could get it quite easily. Guiche might not be a tactical genius, but he was smart enough to know that Tabitha was smarter than him and that her advice would be worth paying attention to. Mostly because he too came to realize that Negi was favoring his left side heavily in their spars. It seemed that in his holding back (to the point he used his weak hand) he'd forgotten to cover up the holes that a lax stance brought.

"He will be open."

That was as much as Guiche needed to hear.

The next bout began five minutes after that. Guiche had already explained Tabitha's plan, and it was put in motion. After all, Negi had been pretty annoying when it came down to hitting him, and unless they ever managed to, he wouldn't proceed with the next lesson. Which was actually something Louise found deeply stupid.

If they were the students, wasn't it a given that they wouldn't be able to touch the master?

In any case, when a chance presented itself, she took aim with her wand and saw Guiche swing his sword. Negi's attention was on Guiche, as he knew that while the Explosion could shatter his weaker barriers, it wouldn't punch through. However, she aimed at exactly the spot where Guiche's blade would hit a moment after. A small burst of power tore a hole in the barrier, and Guiche stabbed with all of his strength, only to hit empty air.

Negi actually had to dodge that one a bit frantically when he noticed that they were _finally_ working together with some semblance of coordination and tactics, so he dashed forward, intending to go chase after the mages that were left wide open. And then, two roaring tornadoes were rushing his way, one of raging flames and the other of flowing water.

Kirche and Montmorency wanted to high five as it seemed that they'd hit Negi head on.

Nice tactic, but not enough. He placed Derflinger ahead of him and both blasts were absorbed into it. However, before he had time to do much more, he had to rapidly turn around and break Guiche's steel blade into a million pieces with Derflinger. However, the pieces, instead of spreading, sharpened into needles and shot at Negi.

_"Flans Paries Aerialis!"_ All the metallic bits of shrapnel hit a raging wind wall and were deflected. The wall was intended to be physical, however, and would not stop magic attacks. So while it deflected the small bits of metal, the explosion that followed them could not be so easily stopped. The last of his magical barriers was shattered with that and another combined tornado of water and fire slammed against his back.

Negi was sent flying from the hit, his face looking utterly shocked as he somersaulted and landed on his feet. "You... You hit me." He said, suddenly registering that there was a small bleeding cut on his cheek from when he took an instant too long to chant his wall up. His coat, while mostly unharmed, sported a few burns and tears, though it didn't catch fire thanks to the water.

Tabitha narrowed her eyes. She had underestimated him a bit, thinking he'd get hit as soon as he turned his back to Guiche. She couldn't fault the blond earth mage, as she hadn't factored in his own reaction speed, which greatly exceeded her expectations. And she couldn't have predicted that he'd be capable of turning a shattered weapon into a thousand smaller ones.

Maybe this training was more interesting than it looked like at first glance. Sure, they weren't learning much in the name of theory, but damned if they weren't learning how to actually fight from having to contend with an overpowered opponent.

It seemed that all five of them were partying in joy over the event. "Ah, but it was all thanks to Tabitha's plan." Guiche mentioned, rubbing his chin.

"Well, doesn't surprise me much." Kirche said, shrugging. "Tabitha is a veteran at this, after all."

Negi grinned and walked up to the spot in the wall she was sitting against. "Ah, that was you? They attacked my right side, knowing that since I'm using my weak hand, I wouldn't be able to defend as quickly and well. A quick, smart observation." He said, crouching next to her so they were at almost level (he was quite a bit taller than her) "Then again, I shouldn't have expected anything less of you, should I?"

She muttered a few words of assent and nodded her head, returning to her book and almost burying her face in it. She didn't do it to hide a blush on her face, no sir. And it wasn't caused by a ludicrously handsome young man praising her. No way.

"See? That is how you fight smart." Negi said, getting back on his feet. "Okay, since you hit me, I guess it's time that we begin our next lesson, which is body reinforcement..."

Tabitha actually completely ignored her book to listen in on this lesson. Sure, she couldn't readily cast the spells in his magic system, but with perseverance and tenacity, two things she was far away from lacking, she would manage.

Cantus Bellax, huh? She'd have to ask him for specifics later.

—

There is one truth, one undeniable truth. And it was to be voiced!

"I love festivals." Negi said, smiling widely. Sure, it was nowhere near the scope or awesome quotient of Mahorafest, but nothing could quite compare to that, much less so if one considers that it only benefited even more from the reveal of magic.

Now that ludicrously awesome events no longer need to be flimsily justified with CGI, mages can go all out in entertaining the public. Which given what some of the more skilled, older mage teachers could do, was nothing short of an amazing sight every year. Plus, the attendance of quite a few highly influential figures only made it even more popular.

"Even though you don't even know why it's happening?" Louise asked, turning her head to stare at Negi. He seemed to have gone for a casual version of his coat, forgoing the armoring on it. She didn't know how he could so freely modify the clothes that his card produced, even after having explained that it was a spell specifically designed to do so, she still wasn't sure it could work. After all, it made no theoretical sense, but she'd long given up on any of her familiar's spells making sense to her.

Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens, once he'd written it down on a scroll that could be invoked with anyone with enough magic power to pull it off, had practically broken down her mind. How could a collection of random runes and ludicrously complicated circles combine with a chant in a strange language that she didn't understand to form a concentrated storm, she would never be able to guess.

Ignoring that thought, she continued to concentrate on dressing herself. She'd gotten her best uniform, because while it was a special occasion, the uniform was all she had that could be considered acceptable outside a ball. It really bit her that she didn't have any casual clothes. That would be remedied along with another problem. Namely, Negi's own minuscule wardrobe (because while he could modify the coat, he couldn't change it entirely unless he registered another outfit entirely, something he was against doing).

Maybe she could get him another shirt. The one he had was also the one he used with his special occasions suit, and he couldn't wear it everywhere like that. Would've helped her make a quicker choice if he didn't look damn good in it.

The crowd seemed happy enough, people bustling around and making themselves busy. Some selling, some buying, most idling. It was something that Negi could appreciate about the festival, it made people forget about the fact that there was a war going on. Great for morale, although he would've preferred if there weren't opportunists looking to make a quick buck.

"You should probably return that." Negi said, smiling a saintly, dashing, beatific and absolutely _terrifying_ smile. Or it would've been terrifying, if Negi had actually projected any killing instinct behind it. The thief that had swiped a few fruits of unknown origin, a boy no older than fourteen, didn't even try to run. He knew he was caught.

The shopkeeper thanked Negi profusely, though the fat, bald man (That Negi was sure he recognized from somewhere. One couldn't forget a face such as that) didn't seem to hold it in for the little kid. "Next time, you've gotta ask for it! I'm not heartless, yanno, even if that fairy broke my heart."

Oh. Negi chuckled to himself, making sure to remain as close to silence as possible. That one patron that seemed obsessed with Louise.

The street urchin laughed out loud. "Ah, always with the sob story about that pink haired beauty." The boy said.

It seemed catching him was pointless, as they were friends. The boy's stomach rumbled, though, and it was clear that the merchant couldn't freely give away his produce. After all, it wasn't like he actually had much to spare. Nobody did. Not with the war coming.

Having had to stare at the situation for a few seconds from the middle of the busy street, Louise decided to walk over and follow her familiar's example for a change. She couldn't quite stomach somebody as young as that suffering hunger, considering that the one time she'd experienced the life of a commoner had painted her view of them a bit better than even she would like to admit.

"Here. I will pay for that." The fat, balding man's squeal of joy sounded like he'd just heard a chorus of a million angels sing sweet nothings to his ear. It was a creepy, if hilarious sight, to see him run around the front to kneel in front of Louise, holding her hand up. It was kind of funny to point out that the man was tall, very much so, and he ended up being just a bit below Louise's height when kneeling.

It looked as if he were talking to a child.

"Ah, My angel, my fairy! It is you again! Did you come here to bless me with your presence, maybe even grace me with your hard earned money?"

Louise blinked. It couldn't be. "... Excuse me?" Play it cool, play it cool. Don't tell him it's true. She looked at Negi for help. The redhead familiar smiled and tapped the man in the shoulder, surprising him noticeably.

"Ah, sorry for cutting you off, but we must leave at once. Young Mistress has very much to do and we must not delay." Negi said, bowing to the shopkeeper. "Shall we depart, Young Mistress?"

"We must." Louise said, nodding to her familiar. "This should be enough to feed the young man." She added, depositing a small brown bag on the shopkeeper's extended hand (which had once held Louise's own hands. Both of them.). The shopkeeper got an elated smile on his face as he watched her leave.

"Ah, until we meet again, my beloved angel!"

"Ain't that the girl who beat the shit out of you every day in the Mansion?" The boy commented, grabbing something that Negi would've assumed was an apple and taking a large bite out of it. "Seems sorta nice. Couldn't see her doing that."

"She just knows what I like best!"

"Okay... Moving on..."

Negi couldn't help but laugh all the way, though, as more and more people seemed to recognize Louise, or at least mention the familiarity with a waitress at a sleazy bar. A violent waitress.

"By the way, Master, you never did tell me what that thing about being able to fight in a dress was." Negi commented, accompanying Louise as she went on the girly ritual of shopping that included hours upon hours of watching every window she came across, every stall, every shop, anything, to find what she was looking for, something she didn't even know herself.

Having been around women for most of his life, he knew the ritual intimately and that knowledge dictated he should never interrupt it. It seemed that no matter the setting, no matter where they were, it was a constant, that one.

Well, not really, but it was prevalent enough that it might as well be.

"Well, Negi, since you promised to make up for the fact that you... that thing we discussed last night, I thought about it, and today, you'll be wearing a dress for the whole day as punishment!"

Negi blinked. Okay, this was a bit _too_ much like his first Mahorafest for his liking. If it ended up being a kitsune girl costume again, he would find a way to rip a hole in causality's backside and escape through it. Louise smirked as she saw him suddenly go rigid. That explained why she seemed so intent on checking dresses that would've been enormous on her.

"... Can... Can we not do this? Please?" He pouted at her, as hard as he could, but the pink glacier of terror didn't flinch or budge. It seemed he wasn't going to get out of this one any time soon. "... Why does it always end in crossdressing?"

"Because you said it yourself, you look _damn good_ in a dress. Ah, I just wish Jessica was here, she could help me pick an appropriate dress." Negi just hoped Louise hadn't jinxed his luck further by mentioning that name. If she worked like some of his own girls, then merely mentioning her name would make her suddenly appear out of nowhere to further ruin his luck.

As if he hadn't had enough. Well, he didn't want Louise to remain angry at him forever for that one, though both Louise and Negi found themselves wondering if they could have chosen a tailor that didn't molest Negi as he tried the pre-made dresses on. And then, with a grin, the tailor pulled back. "A few adjustments here and there to account for your physique, and it will be _perfect_. What do you think, Miss?"

That tailor turned out to be the wife of the (somehow) Ukrainian Suit Maker that Negi had gotten his suit from. So they talked for a while, mostly about her husband's obsession with those weird, outlandish styles of clothing. Negi pleaded with Louise for a while, and the pinkette had to admit, he did a really good impression of a hyperactive girl when she agreed to buy him one.

So now, with Negi in a black, flowing dress designed to give him a more feminine figure and Louise in her school uniform, they looked like he was the nanny of a noble too young to go out on her own. It helped that he actually acted the part of a kind old nanny pretty damn well...

However, it seemed like the main event would soon commence.

"Long Live Her Majesty! Long Live Queen Henrietta!"

White petals began falling, guards were placed to keep the princess' route free from any who would shove their bodies into it, and of course, trying to keep order otherwise.

In a magnificent white carriage pulled by white horses, something Negi thought was overdoing the whole 'saintly queen' imagery, the Princess (Or was she queen already? How do crowning ceremonies work again?) began to make her pass through the city (that he'd qualify more as a large town than a city). A pang of nostalgia hit him as the parades that had succeeded his world saving shenanigans came to memory.

… He still remembered being in the same place as Henrietta was right now, waving at the crowds with Asuna by his side.

Louise seemed entranced by the approaching princess. "Ah, she looks splendid!" she almost yelled, turning into what Negi could only describe it as a fan girl. Well, he didn't blame her. She could certainly be called beautiful, and perhaps even more. Though he couldn't quite look at her for too long. Stupid, stupid, wonderfully painful and beautiful memories.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"Sorry... just... memories." He said, smiling as reassuringly as he could. "Please, don't worry about me." he said, though he was as convincing as a modern politician. There was something wrong and she knew it.

Louise frowned at him. "Negi, I am your master, I'm supposed to make sure you are okay, and I'm worried..."

He shook his head. "I'm alright. They... They are happy memories." He said, a smile on his face that was far more convincing. Then he looked at the blond knight leading the royal guard that was riding next to the princess. Their eyes crossed for just a second and she glared at him as hard as she could, the killing intent so thick it could be physically felt.

Why would she do so? Considering that she was a member of the royal guard, it was likely she'd committed his likeness to memory. He'd made a name for himself in the royal court as an all around ass kicker after what happened to the nobles that crossed him.

Normally, he'd assume she's just looking for potential assassins, but her eyes were focused solely on him. She had recognized him. And he couldn't help but rise to the challenge. It didn't matter that it was a royal knight making it, all he cared about at the moment was that he was just challenged, if indirectly.

So he returned her glare with a pleasant, warm smile, causing her to turn around and continue on the parade like normal.

"So, Master, I kind of have a reunion scheduled with the princess after the parade is done. Would you like to accompany me? I am sure Henrietta would be quite thankful for your visit." Negi said, rubbing his chin, ignoring her confused stare.

"A reunion?"

"Well, I decided to declare myself an Ambassador for Vespertatia for the time being, given that I can't appoint anyone else to the task since most of my employees and potential subjects are kind of in another world." He explained, before turning to the distant castle. "Maybe we should wait in the castle, though, as this could run a bit long..."

It seemed that Henrietta was really good at connecting to the masses...

––

"You must understand, however, that I am to be wary of any meeting that my master cannot attend, and that I am placing a great deal of trust in your knights for her protection."

She couldn't quite look at him straight.

Agnes did not like that redheaded man. Henrietta could see why, and had thus asked her to suck it up and be a grown up. Negi was dangerously overpowered, after all, and he always had a clear shot at the princess. He couldn't be left alone with her for too long. Though she didn't know why the princess seemed to not mind his presence, considering how unsettling it was.

Even staying along him for longer than two seconds made her want to just kill him and be done with it. What the hell was wrong? He didn't have any killing intent, not even the slightest bit, but it felt as if he had the instinct for it tied down as much as he could. Being nice was already a big no-no in her trust book, as politicians, particularly ambassadors, are _never_ nice if they aren't trying to get something from you.

Particularly since she knew, firsthand, the kind of power he carried.

She had refused to let anyone else accompany him and his master to the throne room when Henrietta's prior meeting had been finished. His smile made her skin crawl. She would absolutely not leave him alone with the princess.

That man was dangerous in more than one way, and while she could ignore the stupidly handsome and charming smile, she wasn't so sure about everyone else...

"If you try anything, I will shoot you." She warned, her eyes narrow as she glared at the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it. I do not intend to destroy my alliance with Tristain." He said, reminding Agnes of the fact that the princess had agreed to a rather dubious deal in order to get his cooperation. She had seen the kind of power he could throw around, but... Did the princess think they were so weak as to absolutely need his participation?

… Well, she couldn't deny that he was a very good asset to have.

"A flintlock gun. Travel speed at approximately five hundred meters per second, am I wrong?" He asked, just to make conversation as they crossed the hallways.

Agnes blinked. How did he know so much about how a gun worked? "... You are not. However, what does this have to do with anything?" The Guard Captain asked, a hand actually reaching for her firearm.

"Just trying to make conversation." Negi said, a smile on his face. "You don't like me." It didn't take a genius to recognize that, particularly since most of the narration was given using Agnes as a viewpoint. "However, I don't dislike you, even if you have been projecting your killing intent at me since this morning."

Well, she was sure he'd notice easily.

"You won't make me like you through a few cheap words." Agnes replied, her eyes still trained on the spot she'd have to hit for an instant kill, just where the spine met the skull, a spot undefended by the skeleton and her hand dangerously close to a pistol.

"Very well. However, I must ask you to please refrain from trying to fight me." He said, his smile suddenly becoming very, very frightening. "Otherwise, we might schedule a duel if you wish to face me."

An invitation. He was _eager_ to face her in combat. It was only common sense and the sense of duty that kept her from taking him up in his challenge. After all, she knew she wouldn't be able to defeat him. While the princess kept thinking of him as a human being, she had never made that mistake. To her, he wasn't much more than a monster, or right now, a weapon for her princess (ack! Queen!) to use. Specifically, a double edged sword.

Never trust a double edged sword.

"Just answer me a question." She finally said, taking a deep breath. "Can you tell me why are you wearing a dress? It's kind of hard to take a duel challenge seriously like that."

Negi pouted at her. "... It's not by choice, I can tell you that." He said, blushing slightly.

It was a problem that Agnes couldn't help giggling every time she looked at him, since it sent her image as a badass, intimidating knight to hell. Oh, well, it was worth it, if only because of the sheer hilarity that knowing one of the most dangerous entities in Tristain was also a (fairly good) crossdresser.

"I am glad that you could come here. We have very much to talk about, however, I would prefer to keep this brief, as I have several more meetings scheduled." Henrietta began, and she would have continued, if she didn't see what Negi looked like when he came in.

Negi smiled at her, amused. "Believe me, I know your plight. The endless meetings got on my nerves, too." He spoke, waving her concerns off.

"... Why are you wearing a dress?" The queen finally managed to ask.

Henrietta looked at Negi, who blushed and began to fidget. Then at Agnes, who shrugged.

"Louise?" She asked.

"Louise." Negi replied.

"Makes sense."

Negi sighed and tried to calm himself down. Concentrate on something other than the fact that you're wearing a dress that's kind of tight around the waist.

"Louise Françoise is a Void Mage, and you, her familiar, are the legendary Gandalfr, although the legend does your power no justice. I would have expected nothing less." She said, a smile on her face that was clearly not the plastic one she usually wore. It seemed she was actually happy Louise got something like that. "You could have won that battle on your own, could you not?"

Negi blinked. Then he laughed. "Indeed. I did not fight at my full potential. However, you must understand me. I do not like using my power to murder innocent men who are fighting for what they believe in." He said, smiling apologetically. "I am sorry that I gave you less than what you paid for."

Henrietta shook her head. "Our deal brought everything I expected to the table, and I am certain that we can win this war with your aid. I will not ask you to toss away your morals for a war that is not your own unless it is absolutely required. However, I require your power for something different, at this time."

"You need just give the order and I will obey, those were the conditions of our deal." And demons _always_ uphold their deals. Even if he didn't see himself as one, it was something that he could respect about all of them. Even if the deal went against everything they believed in, they would still complete it. Sure, _then_ they'd be free and the magister who summoned them to do something they didn't want to would be effed, but let's not get into that.

Henrietta smiled, and Agnes relaxed just the tiniest bit, though she still had her hands ready to reach for a weapon.

"Even amongst my court are those who disagree with the coming invasion of Albion." Negi narrowed his eyes at that, but said nothing otherwise.

"We never get to have a lot of friends." Negi commented, smiling. "Our titles do not give us freedom and power. They give us a duty that we must uphold. A burden that I am quite glad to carry, to be honest."

"Indeed. So am I. Very few people ever understand this, and even fewer can do anything to make the top feel less lonely. However, if we don't do it, who will?" She said, and Agnes gaining some grudging respect for the redhead man. Henrietta was not a foolish little girl. No royal ever was completely a moron, otherwise their families wouldn't be in power for so long.

However, she'd add that respect to the count later, given that taking him seriously right now was kind of difficult.

"I wish for our communications to remain secret, for there are enemies even in the palace. As a matter of fact, if you could come here in a disguise such as this, it would be a great help."

Negi's eyes narrowed. "Spies? Assassins?"

"Thieves. Most likely Fouquet herself." The princess supplied. "Although only a minimal amount of what was recovered from the battle was stolen, I fear it might have been something important. We had not had the time to identify everything. It appears that Prisoner Wardes is missing, as well."

"... Do you wish for me to go hunt him again?" Negi knew it wasn't right to actually dislike someone that much, but he had betrayed them and his country, and unless he had damn good reasons, Wardes had become one of his number one enemies.

After all, even Cosmo Enthelecheia and the Megalomesembrian Senate at least had loyalty to the side they belonged to, even if he believed them utterly wrong.

"Not at this time. The biggest worry is the items missing from the spoils of war."

Negi frowned. "There is not much to be done about that, however." the familiar summarized. "If what you wished is an affirmation of my loyalty, then you just need ask so. I am under your orders, and I am sure that Master would not like it if I betrayed you. Wouldn't end well."

Henrietta wanted to laugh. Indeed, Louise would be enough of a guarantee about him holding his word. After all, Henrietta had been a personal witness to the kind of power that her explosions could have.

The Queen turned her attention to Agnes. "Please, call Miss Valliere, Agnes." It seemed that she was on full-on duty mode. Negi could envy her ability to do that, but he didn't. He didn't need duty mode, after all, he was already one hell of a workaholic and he got enough flack from his harem about that.

"... You didn't do anything perverted while you were out of my sight, did you?" Louise spoke, as she was allowed in. "I swear, if you try anything I'll..."

Henrietta looked at her innocently, as did Negi. Louise could get graphic on her description of what she'd do as torture if he tried disrespecting the avatar of innocence and purity she believed Henrietta to be.

"... Though if you do that while twisting at the same time, it works better." Agnes commented.

"Really?" Louise asked, seemingly quite eager to keep listening in on the Captain's lesson.

"Well, at least they bond in looking for ways to torture those who look at you with less than pure intentions." Negi said, shrugging.

"I don't know whether to be glad or scared about it, to be quite honest myself."

"You shouldn't worry. As it is, I'm just hoping they don't decide to use me as a guinea pig. Although for some reason, I have the feeling that this will come back to bite me at some point..."

––

Agnes went to prepare their carriage, accompanied by Louise, because they were to be leaving shortly. However, it took a couple of minutes for Negi to catch up. Maybe he'd gotten lost in the hallways? Didn't seem too likely, though it would explain why he seemed more calm than before. He must have gotten lost in the path of life and thought.

Louise herself didn't pay much attention to it, in the end, because she was busier trying to figure out the puzzle that was the small booklet Henrietta had given her. Supposedly, the lost magics of the void were written on it, though it'd been kept a secret from the public and was only handed down on each generation.

"We must hurry to the academy before night falls." Agnes said, sighing as Negi and Louise climbed on. She really didn't like having to keep watch over the redheaded monster, but she wouldn't put that burden on anyone else. Mostly because even some of her more disciplined underlings were affected by his handsome façade.

And then they were on their way.

"It's blank." Louise said, as Negi looked at it with apprehension. "I wonder why."

"If it works like I expect it to, then it will probably show you the spells as you become ready to handle them. For the moment, I am glad we found a workaround to the other way of unlocking Void Magic." He said, sighing. Then he noticed that Louise was more than a bit tired. "You should rest." He recommended.

Having no room to protest, Louise yawned and looked at him incredulously. "I can't now." She said.

"It's an hour long trip, Louise. Just get a small nap. I will wake you up." He said, smiling reassuringly.

"What about you, then? You should be tired too..."

"Ah, I'm used to having much shorter sleep periods than what I have here. If I need to, I can supplant sleep with my magical energy."

Louise blinked. Using willpower to get past the body's natural functions seemed like more of a stretch than usual, but given it was her familiar, she didn't question it too much. After all, everything he did was impossible before he proved it otherwise. Having no more room to argue, she actually let herself drift off, first falling against his shoulder, then letting her head rest on his lap. Yup, removing the armor padding that his usual attire had was an actually good idea for once.

It was only convenient for Negi, as he required concentration for what he wanted to do since a while. He had enough time to fix a rather blatant issue.

He felt every bit of his body as he submerged himself into the darkness. The lines that Magia Erebea had traced were the channels that carried his magic, his power, his life force. They controlled the flow of magic in his body, and as long as they shined he would never be allowed to die. Nothing unusual about that.

Then he followed the lines to a part of his body that had recently been under a strange influence, where light was attempting to break through the darkness.

And then the lines' power intensified, and the darkness began to heal from the wounds the light inflicted. The darkness swallowed the light, and once more, purity was achieved.

Louise could have sworn she saw the runes glow black before fully surrendering to her tiredness.

* * *

Join the Church of Saint Goku! Or not. We don't care. All we care about is that you be yourself and be happy.


	20. Quick! A Phoenix Down!

**Author's Note  
**I have not figured out how to obtain sodium and potassium from shops in my immediate vicinity, but I WILL check to see if I can really make them explode by adding water. I will get back to you with the results after I buy a super soaker and a smaller water pistol, just to blow shit up at a distance.

Argorok (Anonymous Review): I have plans for Eva-chan which do not include her staying in Halkeginia.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 20: The Last Dance

It didn't take long for Negi and Louise to get to the latter's room. Louise was actually really tired. It seemed that explosions took a lot out of her when she actually did them properly instead of just randomly throwing magic around, but they were also much more destructive.

It also didn't take long for Agnes to almost kick the door down as she forced her way in, a mere dozen hours after she'd left them there to begin with, only six of which had actually been spent sleeping. It was barely Breaking Dawn, but Louise felt it might as well have been Twilight.

God, I hate myself so much for making that joke...

Now, there are two things one should know.

The first is, Louise sleeps with only a see through teddy on. It's a thing of hers, she can't sleep with underwear on. The other is, Negi generally doesn't bother removing his pants to sleep. However, Agnes couldn't see that much. All she saw was a barely clothed Louise draped over Negi, both of them wrapped in each other's arms, since the covers were over his lower body.

She blushed rather noticeably, because she hadn't expected to catch them after doing... well, that. Although she had expected Miss Valliere to be, well, as flat as the rumors said she was, she sure as hell wasn't expecting a mage to sport a rather eyecatching musculature. Well, finding him attractive was the ultimate proof that she wasn't a lesbian, right?

The narrator would like to point out that Negi does not count toward your sexual orientation, much less so if he is in an adult form. This is a known fact.

"PARTNER! INTRUDERS!" A metallic, almost mechanic, sounding voice suddenly exploded into a scream, and there was the sound of rustling and a gust of wind.

"Wha-" Agnes only had time to react to Derflinger's scream, but not to the fact that she was suddenly facing the same familiar that had been sleeping not too long ago, who now had the talking sword held high and unsheathed, standing protectively in front of the groggy Louise who was trying to figure out where she was.

When the hell had he moved? Such ludicrous speed!

"Agnes?" Negi asked, tilting his head and relaxing his guard, letting the tip of the blade rest on the floor.

"This is urgent! The princess has been kidnapped!"

Louise snapped to alert. "WHAT?"

It only took Negi a millisecond to curse not having made a pactio with himself as the magister. Louise really ought to get over her inability to sleep with underwear on, because it was kind of distracting, all things considered.

* * *

Negi sighed. A simple call had his original, unmodified coat on. He knew exactly why he had to summon it. Louise had dressed lightning fast. "Explain." He said, dropping all pretense of a pleasant façade and going right into seriousness. Such a situation warranted nothing else.

Since they'd practically gone through the whole get-ready montage without a word, up to the point where they'd already borrowed a pair of horses from the school (while leaving a note for whoever the caretaker was about it being urgent) and were actually on their way. Agnes did _not_ waste time, it seemed.

"This is my fault, because I left with you instead of remaining in the castle. When I returned, she was already gone. My subordinates are already looking for her. Our trace is leading us towards the Lagdorian Lake. This must remain a secret."

Louise nodded. "Negi. How fast can you get there?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Faster than fast." Negi replied. "It is not very far, it should take me at best a couple seconds to get there. But it is too risky to attempt a rescue operation on my own, particularly if I don't know where they are hiding. If they could see me coming, it is possible that they would execute Her Highness before I had a chance of saving her."

Agnes nodded. "However, you are to take care of this operation. Both of you. We cannot, absolutely cannot consent failure in this." She said, her voice cold and even. "Approach the Lagdorian Lake on foot, disguise your identities. The musketeer squad will be mounting a parallel operation to cut off the kidnappers' escape as well as provide backup if needed."

"I will not fail again. I prepared a countermeasure that would work even for a lethal wound..." Negi said, digging into his coat and pulling out a card. It contained the image of a beautiful woman in some strange kind of robe wielding two fans. "... This time, I will be ready."

"Let's start, then." Louise said, eager to lay the punishment on whoever had the balls to threaten Henrietta's safety.

"Then, we part! We will take the shorter route to the lake, you follow the trail!"

Agnes spurred her horse onward and took a less traveled by road called 'Going through the thick forest'. Louise could at least recognize that Agnes had _balls_ and one hell of a lot of skill as a rider to take a horse like that, even if there was _some_ excuse of a road, it was attacked by roots and overgrowth.

"Let's hurry!" Negi yelled, spurring his own horse to go faster.

There is also something that should be said. Flying is faster than riding on the ground. And dragons are almost as a rule faster than horses, except for that one super fast horse Negi met once. So, it was only convenient that Kirche seemed incapable of seeing a mess in the making and _not_ stepping in. It wasn't something that he wanted to correct, given how good the idea of riding Sylphid over a horse was.

"Louise, ride on Sylphid! I'll follow on foot, I can run faster than a horse!"

"Darling, it hurts me that you always see me coming so easily! Well, I'll do it for you this time."

Tabitha nodded, as she levitated Louise from her horse and onto her familiar. "Thank you." Louise commented, grabbing tightly onto Sylphid.

Negi then abruptly stopped his horse, which, since he wasn't particularly holding onto it, sent him flying forward. He hit the ground running and his legs quickly became a blur of movement. The fact that the horses stayed put spoke levels about their training. Particularly considering that Louise made sure her favorite horses were well trained herself.

There was a storm approaching, but Sylphid still crossed the skies as if it were the most clear of days, having to strain to keep up with the speed that Negi could get. It was by the shore of the lake that they caught up with the fleeing kidnapper, although they were stopped still by Sylphid swooping in, scaring the crap out of the kidnapper's horse and the three girls training their wands (and Staff) at the man of the two.

"Dammit!" The blond kidnapper yelled. "Henrietta! We must fight together!"

"Lord Wales?" And although I wrote it like that, it's more of an actual scream, since Louise had seen Wales die in her arms. It wasn't something she had expected at all. She didn't get much time to dwell on it as the three got off from Sylphid, who took to the air almost instantly afterward.

"But..."

"Nobody will stand in the way of our love!" The blond said, raising his wand. Both Kirche and Tabitha unleashed a spell on him at the same time, combining into a compacted fireball, but he just blocked it with a wall of wind, a spectacular show, all things considered, but nothing too impressive in terms of power. A prototype of Limes Aerialis, it could be called.

"Undead..?" Negi muttered to himself, as he himself arrived at the scene. "The ring of Andvari!" He yelled to himself, dashing forward as Wales pointed his wand at the three female mages. He quickly raised a hand, and just as a veritable hurricane erupted from Wales' wand, it crashed against an invisible wall.

Rain was pouring down, thunder echoed in the distance.

"What?" Wales narrowed his eyes. However, as Kirche took the chance to try and reach him with a fire tornado, it met a massively powerful tornado of water. Now Negi understood why exactly royalty was in power. Even without training, their raw power was rather impressive. Though he shook his head and ignored the need to actually observe a battle between two users of strange magic.

Henrietta's attack only countered Kirche's, which meant Tabitha's, designed to be subtle and hidden behind Kirche's, pierced through Wales. Literally. Several icicles left gaping, bloody holes in his chest... which regenerated harmlessly. _Even his clothes_. That's powerful regeneration...

"Die monster, you don't belong in this world!" Kirche intoned.

"It was not by my hand that I was given life again!" Wales replied, taking the time to actually dramatize with each word spoken. "I will be the one to save Henrietta from her pain!"

"The princess doesn't need a savior such as you! You are no longer worthy of calling yourself a man!" Louise didn't know what had possessed her to so thoroughly insult a member of royalty. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was a zombie and holding the Princess hostage at that. Yeah, that had to be it. No underlying pent up rage against princes or anything.

"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets. But enough talk. Have at you!" The exchange of spells continued, as Kirche and Tabitha traded spells with Wales, who occasionally received support from Henrietta. Negi was entranced by the display, as the battle was more of a traditional duel than a battle like he was used to.

His blood boiled, however, when it was made clear that Wales kept a clear advantage over the two girls in the sheer power department. If he'd had a wand, he would have probably been capable of standing up to Wardes on his own.

It seemed Tabitha wasn't the only smart fighter, however, as when Kirche attempted a followup, she hit an ice wall that Henrietta had conjured with surprising ease. The thing was _massive_. It froze the rain that hit it, providing it with an ever growing mass. Actually impressive. Maybe Negi had indeed underestimated what Halkeginian magic was capable of... Though he was still fairly certain Evangeline would laugh at Henrietta's ice.

Evangeline's own was, as a rule, always below absolute zero, and this didn't come even close.

"Please, give up." Henrietta said, her voice quaking. She knew that against all three of them, they weren't at an advantage, not with Louise's void magic around. If Negi stepped in, they would most likely lose very easily.

Louise shook her head. "No, I will not let him take you away, Princess!" Louise said, taking a step forward and aiming her wand. "Explosion!" She cried, and of course an explosion followed. It crashed the ice wall into a thousand pieces, but that only cleared the way for a hurricane from Wales to get past it.

That wasn't the main attack. The hurricane was a larger attack meant to distract him from the real, much smaller-scope attack of razor sharp wind headed straight for Tabitha. The blue haired girl realized this, but didn't have much time to counter it. She didn't need to, anyway, as both attacks hit magical barriers provided by Negi.

Only one blade of wind had gotten past it, creating a tiny, almost unnoticeable cut that ran across one of Tabitha's legs, ripping the stocking apart. Negi's eyes widened for a second, then he closed them. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. It was just a minor wound. Nothing to worry about.

"Get out of my way. This is an order! This is the last order I will ever give you!" Henrietta pleaded, as the fight took a momentary break.

"I am sorry, your highness, but I can't obey that order!" Louise replied, though she did lower her wand, not really capable of pointing it at her princess. She just couldn't imagine herself intentionally hurting Henrietta.

Negi, who had remained silent for a long time, looked at the scowl on Wales' face, and their eyes met.

"Please, Mr. Springfield, you are under my orders! Stand down!" she continued to plead, looking at the fierce scowl on Negi's face, who seemed to still hold some loyalty towards her words, as he hadn't directly assaulted them yet, even if he had kept his sword at the ready the whole time, clearly hostile intent in his offensive-minded stance.

Henrietta didn't know much about sword play, but that much was a given.

Silence.

The redhead shook his head. This is the time when holding a contract to someone else worked in his favor, as the first contract overrode the second, and Louise had once made it very clear that the protection of the Princess is the number ONE priority. He made a decision.

"Tell me, Lord Wales... How much control do you have over your own being?"

"I am fully in control of myself. It is my love for Henrietta that drives me to desperate measures." The zombie spoke, it's scowl giving way to a sinister grin. "I was given a second chance! I will not let you take it from me!"

"That is all I needed to know." Negi said, sighing. Then he placed Derflinger back in its sheath. "Wales. You tried to hurt my friends, and you are trying to kidnap Henrietta and take her to her death in Albion, most likely at the hands of Reconquista." Negi sighed, then settled down in a fighting stance. "If you wish to pass, you will have to go through me. We will fight, monster to monster!"

Wales and Henrietta had enough time to prepare a spell together, which they unleashed upon Negi. It struck a silently casted Kratiste Aigis, dissipating uselessly into the air. He used Shundou to seemingly teleport until he was right in front of them both. His leg shot to Wales' gut, kicking him away from Henrietta, who gasped and took aim with her scepter, infuriated by the attack on her beloved.

Before she could unleash the spell she'd prepared, she found out that an angry Negi is scary. And when I say scary, I mean _fucking terrifying_. He leaped forward and actually tried to pounce on Wales before he hit the ground. He had to abort that as a powerful gust of wind erupted from the tip of the prince of Albion's wand.

Henrietta had enough time to recover and throw several thin streams of water against Negi, to try to bind him in place.

Negi then smirked. "I haven't used this in a while. _Sagitta Magica, Series Fulgoris!_" he said, pointing a finger at the incoming streams. Several arrows of light, one for each stream, were unleashed. Louise recognized it as the spell he'd taught Montmorency, although with a clearly different element, as these weren't flowing like the water ones, but were much faster and cracking with lightning.

Before he had a chance to cast his next spell, Wales found himself impaled by a large chunk of ice that pinned him against a tree. Tabitha waved her staff, and two more large icicles shot forth to pin his arms down as well, but a wave of his wand and a wind spell made them veer off course. Tabitha gasped in shock.

That was odd. Tabitha never showed shock.

Negi was already leaping to put Wales out of the fight by crushing the bones in his wand arm when he heard a shriek and a gasp of pain. An icicle the size of a man's arm and a dress that was once white and was stained crimson red was the only thing that Negi needed to see. However, when rage threatened to consume him, he concentrated as hard as he could. Not now. He couldn't let it consume him now.

_"Adeat!"_ A quick movement of his hands.

And he was rushing to her side as fast as he possibly could.

_**"ADEAT!"**_

A splash of blood told him that the icicle was removed when he pulled on it. He'd tossed it with so much strength that it'd likely landed in the lake itself. He couldn't care less. No one had a chance to even breathe before he was already waving a paper fan around, on his knees next to the soon-to-be corpse.

Never again. Never. Again.

As he stood up, dark miasma began to swirl around him. "I am going to start beating you now. I am not sure when I will stop." he said, his voice dissonantly serene.

He was faster than a flash of lightning, and in an instant, his hand was already holding parts of Wales' guts. He removed it, let the doubled over zombie chew on the pain for a second while he clasped his hands together and brought them down at the same time on the back of his neck, almost decapitating him and making him end buried in a crater.

Never again. He had failed again. He promised himself. He promised Louise. He promised _her_.

**"I WILL KILL YOU!"**

When the zombie tried to get up, Negi stomped in its head and pointed his hand, palm first, at him, as countless arcs of black lightning surged from his body and converged in it, one hundred and even one thousand times, with the force of the slayer of titans.

_**"Thousand Thunderbolts!"**_

A column of the most pure black arose into the sky, parting the clouds, because the lightning god so demanded.

The lightning, wild and unstoppable, tore through everything. Friend, foe, light, darkness, everything was swallowed into his darkness, to be unleashed at once. The column of lightning fed on the environment, using it as fuel at the same time it was destroying it. And when it seemed to wane and start to thin out, he could do only one thing.

Pour everything he had into it. Destroy everything. The lightning surged again, this time exploding in all directions.

The most powerful level of destruction. Power on a level that it affected both the physical and the metaphysical, destroying everything all the same, swallowing it into darkness only to be torn apart by the lightning. A spell created for wide area destruction focused on a single individual, meant not to defeat.

Meant to destroy. Destroy to the last bit. It would not leave anything behind. Anything that was alive had been reduced to shreds. The proximity to where the spell had gone off had torn his coat apart, leaving him in tattered, bloodied shreds, everything covered by black. The last few remains of the destructive energy that had torn the environment apart flickered out of existence.

The miasma dissipated, as Negi fell to his knees. He'd gone and done it. He'd killed someone again. This time, that same someone hadn't even killed anyone, just gotten dangerously close to it. He noticed that he'd _created_ a clearing with that last spell, and instantly regretted using it.

That kind of power came from losing himself too deep into his own darkness. From letting it take over. But he didn't care. The rush of power was gone, and he once again suppressed as much as he could, replacing every single chain to hold the beast in check. He almost convulsed as another surge of power shook him, lightning cracking. The beast crashed against its bonds.

Why did he always fail? Was he that weak? Was he just a failure? He had failed everyone, and he just kept failing everyone else, no matter how hard he tried to be capable of protecting his friends, no matter how much he sacrificed for the power necessary to protect them, it was never enough. No, he was wrong.

It wasn't the power that was never enough. It was its wielder. The wielder was the problem. Having unlimited power is useless if you can't use it.

Again, it was his inability to detach his fighting self from the notions of morality that had prevented him from just ending that fight in two seconds and preventing the whole disaster to begin with. It was his own inherent weakness of character that had caused Henrietta to get hurt, and it was his own neglect on doing his duty that had allowed it.

He was Negi Springfield Entheophysia, future King of Vespertatia, God Of Lightning, World Savior and Hero... But what kind of hero was he if he couldn't save anyone he cared about?

With a howl of rage, he began to unleash his fury on the ground, which caved in with each impact, trembling under the force of each blow. Time and time again, his fists crashed against the ground, in the most pure expression of rage he could conjure. He continued until he couldn't anymore, until he let himself crash to the ground, limp.

He almost didn't feel when a hand touched his shoulder, first with clear fear, then with a bit more security.

Tears running down her cheeks, Louise wrapped her arms around his neck. Two seconds later, Kirche joined the hug, tackling him as she did so. Even Tabitha was soon in the group hug, even if Negi had clearly seen her familiar discreetly kick her into it while _somehow_ turning around to whistle innocently. And only when he blinked did he realize that he himself was crying a river. He soon stood up, being helped by the three girls still wrapped around him.

Once he proved capable of standing in his two feet, he actually gestured at them to let go. There was someone who needed the comfort way more than he did.

He walked to where he had left the princess and Konoka's artifact. There was no wound in her chest, but her face was still the most pained he had ever seen her sport. She had, after all, just seen him kill her lover in front of her, with a spell that had also destroyed a great deal of the forest along with him.

However, she was not angry. She was resigned, feeling the most emotional weakness she had ever felt. And without a doubt, she accepted the offered embrace and the apology that came with it.

"I... I'm sorry..." was all he could offer. She squeezed him, hard, but didn't do so with hostile intent.

He knew that feeling of loneliness. He knew the feeling that came when it seemed like you were alone in the world, that no matter how hard you tried, you would never be able to look at your friends in the face. He just had to prove to her that she wasn't alone, and that her friends were the ones who would be with her, even in the worst situations.

"I will accept any punishment you deem necessary for my actions." He said, gently stroking her back, letting her the sobs out of her system.

"I... I failed as a queen. I put my personal feelings above my country's. If anyone deserves punishment, it's me." She quickly corrected him.

"You have suffered far more than enough already." She blinked, pulled back and looked at him again, his arms still holding her sides. Tears were still raining, from both of them, his were born from anger, hers from sorrow. Still, at the lowest, weakest moment they had both seen each other in, they couldn't help but understand each other.

She knew why he had reacted so violently. He made no attempt at hiding it. A natural reaction to a stray attack hitting her. It was oh so easy to tell that he didn't care about her because Louise had ordered him to. He was the kind of person who would care a great deal for everyone he met. They were so much alike...

However, before much else could be done, Agnes finished debriefing Kirche, Tabitha and Louise and kneeled in front of Henrietta, making it quite clear that she was utterly ignoring the scene in front of her. She had quite a few bruises on her from the chase, and it was clear her garb had seen better days, but it seemed that even getting blasted with a very powerful wind spell didn't do much more than temporarily inconvenience her.

It had just been her luck that Wales had planted a false trail to throw them off while he took the shorter route.

"I am sorry I couldn't make it here before." Agnes' eyes widened at the sight of the blood in the princess' dress and the hole it had poured from. The completely unblemished patch of skin below it, however, was a bit confounding. "Are you unhurt?" She asked, concern in her voice.

"Of course I am." She said, trying her best to put on a smile and look strong. It was easy, since despite the cold rain she was still in a rather warm and safe spot.

"I am glad that you are safe." Agnes said. "I apologize for being incapable of completing my duty."

Henrietta shook her head, while removing herself from Negi's embrace. "Let... Let us depart to the castle..."

Her voice was still quaking, and it was clear she hadn't fully regained her usual demeanor, but nothing much could be done about that. "When you think up a punishment, send for me." Negi said, smiling reassuringly at her. "No buts." He added, drying his own tears.

She wanted to shake her head and tell him that it wasn't necessary, but he simply intensified his smile, making it actually get past the point where it looked blatantly fake. And if he was trying so hard to cheer her up, she couldn't find it in herself to be angry at him. She'd have time to be angry later, when she didn't feel so broken.

Agnes nodded. "Springfield... I misjudged you." She said, as she turned around and whistled for the musketeers to gather. "I might be lenient this time, but if I ever find you with your hands on the princess again, I _will_ shoot you."

Negi chuckled as he watched Agnes accompany a still trembling, but smiling, Henrietta away. It was just how they both dealt with the pain. Smile enough, and it will go away, at some point... When somebody forced you to face it and get it off your chest.

He would do that soon enough.

"Darling... I... I don't know what to say..." Kirche seemed to be at a loss for words, which spoke volumes about how Louise seemed incapable of even saying that much. Tabitha was usually that quiet, even though she'd gone back to a very unconvincing imitation of reading a book. He couldn't blame her for not concentrating right away on her book.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to see me like this." Negi apologized, bowing profusely. "I... understand if you don't wish to speak to me anymore..."

"Are you kidding? That was _amazing!_ I've never seen something so powerful before!" Kirche suddenly said, showing that her cheer was contagious.

"Negi... I don't want to see you like that ever again." Louise said, seemingly not as thrilled by the display of power as her -and Louise would kill me if she could break the fourth wall for writing this- slutty friend. "What... What happened?"

"A long time ago, when under extreme stress, I would transform into a mindless, raging beast until I was calmed down. This made me basically indestructible and much more powerful than usual, but I also ended up unable to distinguish between friend and foe, I saw everything as an enemy. After I completely dominated Magia Erebea, I no longer had this problem, since I am one with the darkness, it cannot take me over. However, in order to counteract the effect that the runes have on me, I decided to increase the flow of darkness into my body, which means I have a similar problem to that..."

Louise's eyes widened. So the runes did indeed work to make him obedient... but there was something more important to think about. Namely... Darkness? Being one with it... Did that have to do with how the spirit of the water (which wasn't too distant) had once called him apostle of darkness? "Wha-?"

"I guess I never told you. Old Osmond said that I could be a spirit of lightning, to his analysis. Well, he was wrong. My master was usually called 'Apostle Of Darkness' or a variety of other titles because Darkness was one of the elements she controlled and the one she became most widely known for. In my case, I do not so much _control_ darkness, as I _am_ Darkness."

Such a disturbing revelation... However... Louise didn't give a damn. Why? Because her familiar was still her familiar. Whether he was a king, a mage, a knight or an elemental of Darkness, he was first and foremost her familiar, and a mage who abandons their familiar over such a silly thing as fear is not a mage.

"... You aren't in danger of going crazy again, right?" Kirche asked, frowning slightly.

"Unless someone hurts any of you, no I'm not."

"Well, this explains what happened to Lord Mott and why he could never walk again... or have proper bladder control..." the Germanian summarized. "Well, Darling, you just became a whole lot more interesting. After all, who else can say they had sex with an elemental spirit?"

"Knew it." Tabitha muttered, and there was an obvious hint of annoyance, anger and some sadness in her voice. Given how emotionless it usually was, picking out when she actually expressed anything was actually much easier than expected.

Louise smiled sweetly at her. Too sweetly. "I know that you did that. However, I was trying to block that memory as much as possible. Don't. Ever. Mention it again." She warned, having her wand on her hand, the smile still on her face. "Or they will have to pick you up with a spoon."

Did spoons even exist back in the feudal times? Negi couldn't remember. He did, however, turn to Tabitha. "I am sorry if we bothered you that afternoon." He said, scratching a growing itch in the back of his neck while smiling sheepishly at her.

Tabitha turned around and shoved her face in her book. Negi could have sworn he heard her mutter 'Jealous', but it must have been his imagination. Or could it be possible that Tabitha, too, was interested? It wouldn't be a lie to say that he himself was interested. After all, she reminded him so much of Nodoka and Yue that he had been thinking about introducing them.

Nah. Couldn't be.

Of course, Negi thought that. The author knows better, however.

_Sometime later, back in Tristain's Academy For Gifted Teenage- wait, no, wrong academy._

"... Are you sure this will work?" Colbert asked.

"Don't worry. I am one hundred percen certain that we will succeed." Negi replied, clear confidence in his voice as they both walked into the makeshift hangar they'd put the Zero in followed by a tiny blue haired girl carrying a booklet and a pen. "We will disassemble it, then we'll disassemble its engine. I'm sure that we'll learn how it works somewhere along the way." The magister spoke, folding his arms over his chest.

They didn't have modern tools, however, and had to make do with what Guiche could provide using Negi's specifications or working with what they already had... such as wrenches. For some reason, it seemed Colbert actually had a set of workable wrenches. Apparently very pricy artifacts that he'd found in his travels, but never quite knew what to do with. Just their luck and convenient narrative causality, methinks. The author is a lazy jackass, in the end, and couldn't come up for a reason other than 'He found it while looking for the Dragon's Raiment, that one time he got lost in an ocean that turned out to be a lake that wasn't all that large'.

"And if we don't?" Colbert asked, somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of disassembling something neither of them knew how to put back together. "Then it will be useless."

"That is what I brought Tabitha here for. She will write down the process we go through in the hopes that doing the same in reverse will fix it." He said, a grin on his face. "Hakase, I will make you proud!"

"Well, I guess we can try." Colbert finally agreed,

"Do, or do not. There is no try." Tabitha helpfully commented.

"Right! Let's get on with it!"

* * *

**Omake: **You're overdoing it!

" V◙**D**äV%!ß◙**I**äß UPe▬ **E** VX"

A guttural sound that broke any and all rules of speech. Something so utterly wrong that just could not be human speech. That was the sound of the inhuman growl that ripped itself from the beast's throat, accompanying a wave of killing intent so pure and thick that it might as well be a black aura emanating from its body.

Wales did not have time to see the attack coming, as he was punched _through_ the tree he had been pinned against, slamming into the one behind it, splashing blood. He did not get a moment of silence, however, as he was quickly fed a devastating chain of attack, punches that destroyed the skin they touched, his flesh caving in.

The last hit sent him flying into the air, clearing the forest easily. He, for a minute, hated the fact that his regeneration made his brain recover in time for him to open his eyes and see a misshapen black monstrosity, something that could only be described as a humanoid dragon with spikes all over its body and a pair of wings made from pure energy erupting from its wrists.

He didn't know why he wasn't falling, he only knew that the thing had grabbed him, digging its claws into his chest's flesh, and the mere touch burned with the lightning that cracked around its form.

**"▄! %!KIß◙äX▄! L ►L◄!"**

It growled in his face, and Wales could only remain silent, completely still, as a new wave of killing intent followed a knee to his gut that had him vomiting blood and tossed higher into the air. The beast had Derflinger in its hands in an instant, the sword mutating with black veins running through it.

"Dammit, Partner, get a hold of yourself!" it yelled, to no avail.

The runes' light pierced the darkness for an instant, before they were consumed and became nothing more than black luster, spreading across their owner's body.

The creature continued to take ludicrously fast and powerful swipes at Wales, who could do nothing but scream in impotent rage and pain as the places that regenerated were destroyed again, effortlessly. He was sure he'd lost both of his arms at least nine times by now.

Before the Zombie Prince could get a second to breathe after getting kicked away from the raining meteors, the beast was next to him again, trailing lightning as it moved. With a quick slash from Derflinger, his leg was off, however, before it could drop or dissolve, it was snatched from the air and used as a baseball bat to shoot him even further upwards.

They were getting dangerously close to the point where there was no longer thick enough air to breathe, but the beast didn't seem to care, instead being intent on putting the most damage it could on her body, making ever more twisted patterns as it destroyed Wales.

Another combination, this time three horizontal slashes followed by getting an uppercut (that started at crotch level and was done using an open palm, meaning that the claws had ripped him to shreds)

**"#Y%!Oß◙ä ╗U↑!"**

Whatever the hell that was, innumerable spears of what appeared to be solidified lightning appeared in the air, all pointing at the same spot. The beast pulled the hand wielding the sword back, and then back in, slapping him in the ribs with Derflinger's flat side, turning the entire ribcage into little more than bone shards.

And then the spears converged, leaving Wales in shreds, resembling more strips of flesh rather than a human body, and Derflinger free to be pulled out. He was already reforming, however, and by the time he began to fall as a uniform being, he could hear the last of the creature's howls of rage and hatred.

**"#◙Mä◘O%!ß◙äVX╗↑V%!ß◙äVX#◙äV%!ß◙äVX╗↑!ä!äéEX╗◙äV↑!"**

There were a few basic facts every mage knows. Fire magic weakens in the rain, while lightning and water magic gets boosted by the abundance of water. It is ludicrously easy to cast water magic in the rain and Lightning becomes that much more damaging because you are soaking wet.

However, there was also a second part to this. Something that has quite a bit to do with the fact that rain generally occurs when a storm happens.

This one, was not just any kind of storm. It wasn't just a small drizzle. It was a thunderstorm, and the lightning arcing through the air was the proof of that. Wales saw it converge in a single spot, turning black as it did. The creature brought it's hands together by it's right side, then separated them, a _gigantic_ black spear forming as it did so. It was easily three times as long as the creature was tall, and that wasn't counting the blades on each end.

It cracked with fierce black lightning, and seemed to have a pair of wings in the same shape as the patterns still floating next to the creature's wrists.

"V%!ß◙äVX"

God's lance. The Titan Slayer. The weapon of the God Of Lightning. It caught Wales in the stomach before he could hit the ground and impaled him, boosting his fall so that he made a huge crater and destroyed the trees next to his landing spot. However, the zombie was still alive, his face a mask of pure pain, eyes having rolled to the back of his head and jaw hanging so open it might as well be broken.

The beast howled one last time.

_**"KOKURYUU RAIGOU!"**_

* * *

Helpful Tip: Negi first used Kokuryuu Raigou (Black Dragon Advent Of Lightning) against Dynamis, who was tough enough to withstand the attack without getting vaporized. Wales Da Zombie is... less tough. It's basically the release of the Thousand Thunderbolts contained within a Darkness-powered Titanoktonon. The lightning column should be about as large as the Gravekeeper's Palace (which is ginormous).


	21. Didn't We Do This Already?

**Nota Del Autor:  
**This took a bit longer than expected, but I had to stop to eat at some point.

SeanHicks4: Tabitha going Yoda is a running gag.

Aelreth (Anonymous Review): Of course. However, it'd require her getting actual mastery of her element. Simply being capable of casting a spell doesn't mean you can invent a spell on the go. Basically, she'd have to invent Void Elemental Sagitta Magica. It requires better control of her vast power than she already has, since each individual arrow is less power than what she normally uses for pretty much anything, and she'd end up overcharging them.

Mitsukuri Tsukiyama: Thankless? Hey, if she manages to keep anyone from falling for The Springfield Charm, she should get a medal and a million bucks.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 21: The Pimp-Off

"Did you sleep well last night?" Negi asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.

Louise wanted to sock him across the jaw. "I should be asking _you_ the same thing. Lately, you seem to be getting one breakdown after another. I'm actually beginning to worry about your sanity." the pinkette said, folding her arms across her still nonexistent chest. Negi sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and tried his best to appear innocent, at that.

It didn't take long for him and Colbert to call it a night... after disassembling part of the Zero's engine. Luckily, Tabitha had left them a small booklet filled with the process they'd gone through and useful notes, most pertaining to their getting too excited in working on the damn thing, since they didn't have the correct tools they'd have to work with extra care. But even having to slow down would be acceptable.

If Negi and Colbert could reverse engineer an engine (is that tautological? I don't even know anymore.), then they'd probably kickstart an industrial revolution on the spot, putting Tristain as the most powerful country in the world in economical matters. That, and they'd skip the whole steam part and go straight to fossil fuels.

With Earth Mages around, extracting the fuel itself should be far less dangerous than it would be with mundane equipment, not to mention that it could be replicated through Alchemy once it was analyzed enough. With modern scientists, archmages and experienced alchemists working together, who knew what kinds of wonders could be created?

"I will be fine. Don't worry about me, master. Magia Erebea is a wonderful sink for my emotions." he said, waving her concerns off... after Louise had finished dressing. It'd taken him a while to say so. However, Negi had something to do and could not wait for Louise to finish getting herself ready. There was, after all, the need for one final exam. "I will wait for you in the courtyard, Louise."

The pinkette nodded, and continued brushing her hair. After a while of a boring sequence in which Louise did a teenaged girl's morning routine that I won't write mostly because I sincerely don't know what constitutes a woman's morning routine, she decided to move on and actually go to the courtyard, despite not being quite finished.

She would probably get the crap kicked out of her in a few minutes, so what was the hurry to try to look pretty, anyway? She just wished Negi wasn't vindictive about forcing him into a dress... again.

The girlfriends saying goodbye to their boyfriends was expected. After all, very few women wanted to join the army and even less were allowed in, but the sheer amount of people gathered in the main courtyard was unexpected. It seemed Guiche's speech had actually hit many more people than Louise had imagined it would. And she was certain that the majority of the first years was joining the army.

She pushed through the crowd until she got to her objective. A red head that poked above almost everyone else, mostly because of the spiky hairdo. Who it belonged to was quite clear. A pair of shorter blonds were right next to him. Before Louise could get there, Negi's fist found Guiche's.

"I wish I could join you, but if everything is committed to war, we will leave the country defenseless. There will be a token force remaining here." Negi explained. "Which I find myself among." He added, sighing. "Take care."

Both blonds nodded. "Yes, Master!" Guiche quickly added.

"Good boy." Montmorency commented, patting him in the head like a dog. Guiche didn't seem to mind it entirely, and Negi found himself having flashbacks to Kotaro and Natsumi's relationship... When they weren't bickering, at least. Natsumi was much less forceful than Montmorency. Actually, it was sort of a reverse of that.

It was kind of funny to him.

"... You know, I sort of expected you to give them one last lesson, you know." Louise said, shrugging. "Since they're going to war and all."

Negi smiled. "They do not need one last lesson. I have full confidence in your abilities and your capability to return alive." He said, turning to the blonds, who were pumped up by being declared Negi-approved. "Guiche, you have a talent for improvising on the run. Use it. Don't try two handed weapons or to dual wield, I haven't taught you how to do either of those properly. Montmorency, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid..."

"And don't use the whip... I still have nightmares about that one..." Guiche commented, fidgeting. "I still don't know where you learnt to use one." He added, turning to Montmorency, who looked pointedly at the second years' tower, but said nothing otherwise.

Louise began to whistle innocently.

"Okay, regardless, I recommend quicker spells. Sagitta Magica should be enough to knock out a grown man. Even in full plate armor." Negi finished. "And remember, use the contract to summon Guiche as needed."

"Well, asking that the male students join was to be expected. I didn't, however expect the army to enlist the females too." Louise pointed out, looking at Montmorency.

"I forced my way in. Do you think I'd let this moron out of my sight in the middle of a war? I wouldn't trust him in the middle of a market." Montmorency helpfully replied.

"Well, that explains it. I guess they wouldn't deny the willing the chance."

What they hadn't noticed, however, was that the male students had gathered in a circle around them, most of them actually glaring at Negi, looking like they wanted to say something, but couldn't quite form the words. A brave third year stepped forward. "S-Sir Negi... S-S-Stay a-away f-from our girlfriends!" He'd had to break into a scream to stop stuttering.

Negi tilted his head to the side in wonder. "Ah? What do you mean?" He asked, only now noticing that they were surrounded.

The third year relaxed considerably when he wasn't blown up for interrupting. Or something worse. "W-Well... You will be one of the few males remaining in the school, and..."

Negi laughed out loud at the idea. "Goodness. Do not worry about that. I am sure that Master would castrate me should I even want to do so. I am a gentleman." The redheaded young man said, smiling broadly. He missed the dreamy sigh that had been pretty much chorused amongst the present crowd.

"... You know, normally, I'd worry about you going about from female on female, but now I'm worrying about the complete opposite..." So are we all, Louise, so are we all.

"What's that?" Someone asked, seeing a twinkle in the sky.

Negi smiled at the incoming minuscule shape. He, just in case, mentally chanted a few physical and magical barriers, should he have to block anything. It struck him how he had come to be ready for battle at any time, but there would be time to worry about how he was going back to his warrior ways later.

It was a white dragon, bearing some sort of insignia in its head. Its rider was a young man with faded blond hair, who reminded Negi of Wales a great deal. Had to be the uniform he wore under the blue cloak.

He smirked and did his best to use every move that a ladies' man would use in his situation. Negi gave him a seven, would've been nine if he hadn't had a lack of originality. He did, however, succeed with the general public, making the female population go weak at the knees, and causing the crowd gathered around Negi, Guiche, Louise and Montmorency to turn to glare at him.

Negi's own eyes instantly locked on the young man's own. Heterochromia. One eye was red, the other was blue. Had the red one been green, then Negi would be worrying about it. As it was, it was just something that made him further stand out from the crowd.

"Wow. After spending so much time with you, the effect is quite diminished." Montmorency said, turning to Negi. "Does this happen often to you?"

"... More than you'd imagine... And with men too..." Louise spoke, glancing aside.

The handsome young man strode forward with calculated steps, making sure to remain as magnificent as he could. The sword tied to his waist followed the movement of his legs, and Negi found himself hoping he wouldn't be stupid enough to pull it. "I am Julio Chesaré, a transfer student sent in from Romalia. It is a pleasure to meet you." He had even shiny white teeth. Somehow, that was kind of anachronistic...

Negi nodded to himself, and turned to Guiche. "That's how you introduce yourself. Remember it."

Julio seemed a bit taken aback by that comment, but otherwise remained smiling.

It didn't take long for the students to calm down and depart, leaving a rather empty academy, populated only by females, Negi and Julio. And the teachers, of course. Bloody cowards they were. "You need to use extreme heat to alter this alloy." Colbert explained. Negi took notes, because it would be useful towards their work on the Zero later. After all, he'd begun with the intent to replace its parts with magically modified and empowered parts.

He could get ludicrously light weight and resistant metals through magic, which would make the Zero not only far more resistant, it'd also likely become faster as a result. He wondered how hard it'd be to create a turbine before dismissing the thought. He had no idea how those worked.

It seemed that Julio wasn't above taking notes himself, even if he refused to wear the uniform. What was that about being a cleric or something? Negi didn't really care. The only reason he was keeping an eye on him to begin with wasn't interest, it was mostly because this time, he wouldn't get blindsided by a suspiciously nice newcomer. If he tried to attack them from the inside...

Not-so-pretty thoughts swam through Negi's head.

Louise, meanwhile, was glad the eyes were taken off her familiar for all of two seconds, although all that had changed was that instead they went back and forth between him and Julio.

"Why would he come to a magic academy?" Of course, the first smart question had to be asked by Tabitha. Negi would have replied that simply being incapable of using magic doesn't mean that he shouldn't be allowed to learn about it, but he was busier taking notes.

"What's so bad about it? He's... very handsome..." Kirche commented.

"This is not going to end well." Louise said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding as Julio focused on her for all of two seconds. She already had enough trouble by all the girls that were jealous about the fact that the ludicrously handsome Negi Springfield was her familiar and thus hovered around her most of the time, causing her to kick him out of class in several occasions (he kept distracting everyone with smart questions).

"You seem interested in him as well, Master." Negi said, splitting his concentration between the small notebook he was writing on and Louise's nerves. "I do admit that he is quite handsome, however, you should focus on your studies for the time being."

Louise wanted to reply, but several armed musketeers barging in tend to be quite distracting.

"Agnes?" Louise asked, seeing their captain leading them. "One has to wonder why she's the one who always comes..."

"She really needs to learn to trust in her subordinates and delegate tasks..." Negi said, and considering that the universe hadn't imploded from the sheer hypocrisy he had just displayed, it was just our luck that he'd learned the lesson after getting it pounded into him by his allies... multiple times and with several blunt implements.

"I want everybody in the main hall right now." Agnes spoke, placing her hands on her hips and actually showing that she did, indeed, look the part of a badass knight.

"W-Who are you?" Colbert asked, narrowing his eyes. He didn't think anybody would attack the academy.

"We are from Her Majesty's Musketeer squad." Agnes snapped at him. "In order to train the royal army, we will use the academy's grounds."

Her vice captain stepped forward. "Therefore, all lessons will be suspended beginning now." It was clear she took some perverse glee in announcing that part, though Negi couldn't understand why. After all, if they didn't get their lessons, they wouldn't learn, and if they didn't learn, they wouldn't be productive members of society... Maybe she'd had bad experiences in scho- wait, no, considering their society, he doubted they even had regular school.

Why hadn't he actually checked that part? And why the hell am I going off on a rant regarding this when there are more interesting things going on?

"To the conference hall. Now!" The vice captain roared.

Most girls began to get up, though Colbert quickly slammed his hands against his podium. "Sit down, students." The surprisingly commanding tone he took made everyone obey his order without a second thought. Negi was kind of jealous of having that kind of authority. If he'd had it, _maybe_ he wouldn't have had to deal with statutory rape every day.

"Teacher, we are in war times." Agnes snapped, looking at him as if he were the biggest moron she had seen.

"And thus we need to continue our lessons! Fighting in a war is stupid." He said, his voice growing forceful. However, he was cut off by Agnes pulling her sword, and feeling the cold still rest against his throat. It was kind of refreshing actually, since the heat from the flame had been somewhat uncomfortable.

"Silence. I have always hated mages, particularly fire mages. Don't force my hand." She said, her eyes narrow, clear killing intent washing over the room.

"Agnes. Put that sword down."

The blond Musketeer's eyes widened, and she whirled around to stare at a man in an armored longcoat, who was smiling at her in a way that was quite clearly pleading her to drop the whole hostility thing.

"Attacking your own countrymen doesn't seem like a good idea during war times, does it?" Negi asked, taking a few steps forward.

She reluctantly sheathed her weapon. "Don't interfere with my mission." she commanded.

The vice captain looked shocked at Agnes actually complying, but then she took a look at who had asked her to do it, and all her doubts were cleared. She couldn't see herself saying no to such a handsome young man. "Weird, wasn't the captain a lesbian? I could have sworn..." One of the musketeers said, in a hushed tone that only her peers caught.

"Me too..."

Agnes felt a vein in her forehead throb, but ignored the whispers. She'd be particularly harsh on them on their training. What kind of idiot gossips in the middle of a mission?"

"Thank you." Colbert said.

"You are my friend." Negi said, smiling at him in a way that had all of Louise's classmates emitting a dreamy sigh.

* * *

It turned out that they were going to be trained in groups by the musketeers. An idea Negi could get behind, because everyone should know how to defend themselves in the case that the necessity ever arose, and since not everyone could be a talented mage that could get by the whole not knowing how to fight thing with sheer power, well, teaching them how to handle mundane weapons was only a natural step towards their being _somewhat_ effective in battle.

It would also turn for utter hilarity for all girlfriends who their boyfriends wanted to protect, but the mechanics would end up the other way around. He was sure Chamo would've been proud, anyway.

"Excuse me... We are mages, sir. Is learning how to use mundane weapons really all that important?" one of the girls about to be trained asked, meekly. Of course, she wouldn't have the balls to stand up to the madwoman who'd pulled live steel against a teacher.

"Absolutely. Because for all of your magic, you can't do jack shit in combat." Agnes said. "Let us begin. Pair off and fight."

Negi watched the exercise with a smile on his face. A clear evaluation technique to divide them in levels from which she would then decide how to work. Different groups pertained to different areas their training would focus on, such as speed, power and agility. Well, since she wasn't training a single person, that seemed the best way to go about it.

Besides, it'd save him the trouble of having to teach Louise and Kirche hand to hand combat. It was clear that their (although minimal) grasp of body enhancement was clearly giving Louise an edge over her opponent, even if she was just as clumsy with her weapon as she was.

Kirche, however, seemed much more interested in going after the transfer student, Julio. And at the mention of the name, Negi, who had studied Latin and as a result the Roman empire (because let's face it, they are the most interesting part of ancient history), and his name was, quite clearly, a pun on Julius Caesar's. Someone thought it'd be funny, though it could be a coincidence...

His hand easily stopped the vice captain's wooden sword. "Yeah, no." He said, pushing the blade back with ease.

Agnes smirked. "Ah, I have a use for you..." She began, remembering a certain trio of knights who weren't performing their duties with the utmost of discipline. She yelled three names that Negi didn't pay attention to, focusing instead on how he'd have to put in some extra work on Louise since she seemed to be relying on superior physical prowess instead of actually trying to fight smart.

"Ah?" He said, as he saw the three musketeers that Agnes had brought with her lined up in front of him, while the Vice Captain was positively gleeful. He was tossed a wooden sword. "Let's see if you are as good as everyone says you are."

He could always just pull Derflinger from his back and end the fight instantly, but of course, he didn't. It'd be more interesting to do it on their terms.

It didn't take long for the pairs to stop fighting. Mostly because Negi smiled, took the sword and casually beat the everloving crap out of three musketeers. In all of thirty seconds. "Uh... sorry?" He offered, as he crouched over the three grounded musketeers, while he kept the blond cleric wannabe who mock-fought Louise in the corner of his left eye.

The moment his hand tried to go for the real blade...

"Well, you definitely are just as fast as the rumors go..." The Vice Captain spoke, a bit of surprise sneaking in. "... You three, get back up. Your performance was pitiful."

"I will personally attend to your training." Agnes said, her face set in a scowl. "You evidently don't need the training. Go do something else."

"Actually, I would prefer to remain. That was relying on sheer speed and power, and I am always looking to improve myself." He admitted. "Truth be told, I could use some improvement when handling one handed weapons."

"I am enough of a trainer for you, Partner." Derflinger said, its voice cutting through the short period of silence as Agnes pondered it.

"Yeah, in technique. However, Derflinger, I can't really spar with a living sword, can I?" the redhead replied. "I could use a strong opponent."

Julio walked up to him, a smile on his face. "Then, perhaps we could duel?" Even the tone of voice... yes, that was the minimum threshold for what he would train Guiche into being. Julio would be the baseline. "I do not like boasting, but I am a swordsman of considerable skill."

"Are you certain?" Negi asked, smiling.

"Oh, this will be good." Agnes commented, then she turned around. "All of you, get your ass moving!" She yelled, scaring the girls enough that they once again began fighting, most trying just to appease their new hardass teacher.

"Don't kill him." Louise said, her face deadpan as she did. She knew that if he actually wanted to win, Julio would've stood no chance, no matter how good he was.

"No magic. A duel between swordsmen." Negi said.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Julio replied, his hand going for his sword. "Tomorrow at first hour, then?"

"Of course."

Louise was actually beginning to think about what this entailed. What was it about the men in her life that seemed to drive them to violence? Well, she knew Negi actually liked fighting someone who actually could challenge him, even if it was while he held back, but... why did the new guy _also_ turn out to be a battle maniac? Sure, she could thank him for the pointers when it came to fighting with a weapon...

"Wah! Lord Julio and Lord Negi will fight!"

And of course, the fangirls were ecstatic...

* * *

There was something more pressing to Negi than the duel, however, even if the darkness within him protested that crushing an opponent is always the more important part.

"Oi, Agnes." He said, catching the Musketeer Captain as she wandered through an empty courtyard. The lesson was over and her subordinates had already carried the implements to a proper deposit, and she was only going to follow them to their chosen rooms. Osmond had been very accommodating towards them.

"What do you want?" She asked, not turning around and, in fact, maintaining her stride. He had longer legs, surely he could keep up.

"How is Henrietta?" He asked, clear concern in his voice. This stopped her cold.

Agnes couldn't readily answer.

"... I see." He said, his voice dropping down several levels. He sounded so sad that Agnes had actually entertained the thought of hugging him, but she firmly quashed that thought. It wasn't as if it was hard. Lesbian power, methinks. "Still hasn't thought up a fitting punishment."

"If you keep going on about it, I might suggest one myself." Agnes quickly countered. "It could not be just concern for Her Majesty's condition that brought you here." She added. "Don't tell me your master ordered you to come ask."

He shook his head. "You are wrong. It is. I do not care about her because Louise ordered me to. We are friends, and I am worried about her." The redheaded magister spoke, taking a step back. "If you do meet her again before I do, tell her that no matter what happens, both myself and Louise will stand with her."

"I don't understand you, Negi Springfield." Agnes said, turning around to face him, revealing that she had her hands on her sword. "I do not understand how someone with as much power, ability and knowledge as you have could be so submissive. I have seen many kinds of mages, but never one quite as yourself." the blond woman said, not relaxing her grip on her weapon. "What is your game?"

Negi remained silent. He could answer. He could tell her that the runes in his fist forced obedience. But he'd be lying. The runes had no control over him anymore. "I promised that I would never allow anyone I love to get hurt again."

Agnes raised one eyebrow, but quickly returned to her scowl. "Tell me the truth."

"Have you ever realized, Agnes, that life is precious?" Negi asked, turning to stare at the distant sunset. "Have you ever sat down, thought about everything you had done, and realized that your life would be empty and not worth dealing with if it weren't for the people who stand with you in the worst and the best?" He continued.

Agnes remained silent, however, she did sit down in the soft grass when he himself let himself reach a more comfortable position. She knew that he was a mage like all others, or even worse, he was far more dangerous than all the other mages she'd ever met put together.

"I am immortal, Agnes. I may have lived only nineteen years, but during those nineteen years I reached maturity and stopped there, I have survived so many lethal wounds that I could probably write a book about them alone, and I have been completely obliterated at least twice. With time, almost everyone I love will grow old, wither and ultimately die, and I will be left alone for the rest of eternity, forever wandering onward."

"You are not making an argument towards me believing you honestly care about them." Agnes said, though she didn't look at him, and he didn't look at her, both could feel each other's expression. She wasn't particularly pleased with the talk. He had a nostalgic, sad smile on his face as he let a few seconds pass.

"Would you condemn me for wanting to prolong the time I can be with my beloved friends? Would you condemn me for the ultimately selfish act of protecting them?"

"You are a strange man." Agnes finished.

Negi chuckled. "The good kind of strange, I hope."

Agnes actually joined him for a round of laughter.

"... I kind of still want to fight you, though." Negi said, somehow dissonantly serene.

"This goes against a peaceful man's wishes. Why?" Agnes asked, her hand going towards the hilt of her favored sword again. She could draw it and behead him in one second, but seeing his reaction speed from when he blocked an attack he couldn't have possibly seen coming, she was certain he'd dodge it anyway.

It was a wonder how fast she could turn from relaxing in the grass to battle ready.

"I never said I was peaceful. To be quite honest, I need to get ready for the duel. Considering I haven't fought without enhancing myself in a _very_ long time, I need to get used to a slower and weaker body." He justified.

"Bullshit. You just want to fight." She said, a smile in her face. It was a wonder, how someone who could be so sincere when he talked about caring about his friends would be so roundabout to say 'I want to fight you because I think you are strong'. It seemed he was in quite a bit of denial over that fact.

"... True enough, I guess..." he finally admitted, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Your familiar?" Kirche asked for confirmation. After all, she'd expected Louise to know where her darling would be. Well, Negi seemed to act on his own a lot for a familiar. "Oh, yeah, I remember seeing him and that Musketeer Captain that seemed oh so fond of us by the Vestri court." The redhead explained. "All hot and sweaty. I had to refrain from joining in myself, really."

_With the psychopaths... and Tabitha..._

Tabitha looked at her, then went back to her book. Louise's face went from anger to calm in about five seconds. She sighed. "They are fighting, aren't they?"

"How did you know?" Kirche asked, actually curious.

"I know my familiar." She said, deadpan.

Tabitha held out her hand, and, reluctantly, Kirche actually placed a small brown bag on it.

_Back with those who should be using practice weapons yet are using live steel for some reason..._

"Why aren't your runes activating?" Agnes asked, parrying a slash and letting the blade slide harmlessly to her right. "Shouldn't they activate the moment you lift a blade?" She asked. All of her intelligence on him said that his runes began glowing the moment he touched a weapon.

"They should, yes." Negi said, a smile in his face. "The explanation as to how I am keeping their power at bay includes a lengthy tirade on how my physiology works, and I don't think you want to hear that." They continued randomly trading attacks during the time Negi ranted. Their clashes seemed to be mostly initiated by Agnes, who always leaped into the offensive, leaving Negi to block most of her attacks and unable to counter.

"You are quite skilled." Agnes commented, sidestepping an overhead slash and trying to cut him in half. She had a clear advantage as Negi was holding back all of his magic, which meant he was reduced to a normal, if athletically fit, human's level. "However, if you don't attack to kill, you won't win."

"But if I do, I _will_ kill you." He reminded her. "You're just taking advantage of the fact that you can't kill me." He added, as she hit his hands, which made him almost drop Derflinger, then she proceeded to run Negi through with her sword, eliciting a pained gasp.

"Can't say I'm not. This is cathartic." She admitted, removing the sword just in time to duck under a wide slash.

There is an interesting fact that should be said. When you swing a single-edged sword with the blunt side forward, there is a(n although minimal) difference in the wind resistance. Given Negi was fighting with a very heavy weapon one-handed and with his left hand, to boot, that difference was exacerbated, and Agnes had only capitalized on it as they fought.

Her own weapon was double edged, which meant that she could use some pretty strange movements Negi wasn't accustomed to. Namely, combination slashes that chained one after another that, to anyone, would've looked as if she was flailing randomly.

If she were, then they wouldn't have forced Negi onto the defensive. Well, that was just what he earned for picking a fight with a superior swordswoman. He actually had to commend her on the fact that she hadn't had to resort to the majority of her tricks to defeat him. Although when she did decide to go all out, he'd regretted asking her to almost immediately.

Groin attacks, insults, lies, anything she could use to distract and or inconvenience him was used. She was used to fighting opponents that were generally more powerful than she was, so it was a given she'd learned to counteract it by being as much of a dirty fighter as she could be.

She seemed to take some sick pleasure in inflicting violence to his groin, if the fact that she'd actually kicked him there more times than he could remember was anything to go by. He was just glad his... capacity... wasn't threatened. Regeneration is kinda cool some times, others, it just makes the world that much more painful.

"Then again, I could abuse the fact that I'm, you know, immortal." Then he dashed forward, the wound already closed. Normally, when you do that and the person counters with an attack at your unprotected cranium, you tend to stop the charge to back away. Given that Negi was, well, as immortal as they come, a silly thing like a lethal injury wouldn't stop him. Even if it left him blind from the right eye and with a blade stabbed on his right shoulder that poked out from his lower back, he still tackled Agnes to the ground and actually pressed Derflinger's blunt side to her neck.

"Well, you can do that." Agnes said, as blood dripped onto her face. "Then again, if you weren't, you'd be dead now. Several times over."

"Ow." Negi said, deadpan. "By the way, you are covered in blood. Ten new gold says that everyone assumes you went on a rampage and killed several students."

"I don't make bets I know I will lose." Agnes replied, as she felt Negi actually stand up, pulling Agnes' sword out of his right shoulder. It was kind of hard to move with it stuck there. It was just a wonder that Magia Erebea somehow regenerated his muscles around it, and then acted to return them back to their proper shape.

"Bummer." Negi said. "By the way... Why do you hate fire mages?"

She scoffed. "That is none of your business." She said, her voice growing downright icy as she did.

Negi shook his head. "If you want to tell me, I will listen. I won't force you to tell me." He said, standing up and dusting himself off. Then he took a card (that had a few drops of blood staining it) from the one safe pocket and held it up. "Adeat. Abeat." Two simple words that replaced his destroyed coat with a new version. Though Agnes didn't know how _that_ worked.

Quite an interesting and nifty spell. Eliminated the need for having several uniforms. And laundry.

"Partner, you are actually better than I expected. Even without me guiding your movements."

"Yeah, I've had a lot of practice, though I'm not as good with one handed weapons as I'd hope to be." He admitted, sighing slightly.

"Why don't you use your right hand?" Agnes asked, getting up and wiping the blood off her face with her cape. It was getting annoying. "You are right handed, aren't you?"

Negi looked at her for a second, then he smiled. "My right hand is generally what I use to cast magic, and, well, I am intentionally trying to train my left hand. Two handed weapons were easier to learn, I will admit."

"Then use both hands." Agnes said, glaring at him. "It is clearly big enough for you to put both hands around it."

"But then I will be too stiff. I don't have enough space to alter my grip." He defended. "If when I try to move my hand across its length I slip, something disastrous could happen."

"Then grip gently and slide your hands across it with its own momentum."

"That _is_ good advice. What about the lower body?"

"You need to move your legs harder and faster!"

"Like this?"

"No! Harder! Faster!"

Louise, by the time she did get to them, was already a tomato. What she considered ridiculous was that she was thinking about _that_ when they were obviously talking about something completely different. Again, this was most likely both her familiar and Kirche's fault. Maybe it was a gene in all red haired people that made them into perverts who wanted to make other perverts.

Yeah, it had to be a virus that spread the perversity around...

* * *

**Random And Useless Trivia You Don't Need To Know But Might Be Interesting:**

The Time Squad recently caught Chao Lingshen. She became their new director after a two weeks long campaign involving giving meat buns away for free. She now runs the future with an iron fist, after renaming the Time Squad's main base El-Hazard, which has entered a golden era with no equal. However, she created the supercomputer FATE to do her job for her while she chills beachside with'er harem.

The Yukihiro Group's main competitor is the rising Kirijo Group, which saw a decline when their prior head, Takeharu Kirijo, died of unexplained and unexpected illness. His daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo, proved a much more capable head, however. Everyone knows that her husband is a womanizer who has cheated on her with at the very least four other women. And two robots. And a man. Yes, even herself. She doesn't mind.

The Kido Foundation recently uncovered a cache of golden, magical sets of armor while on an archeological hunt in an ancient complex of temples in greece long ago dubbed 'The Sanctuary To Athena', in the island of Athens. They were quickly confiscated by the International Solar System Development Agency and it has been proven that, with an air tank, they are efficient space suits. Nobody knows how that works. However, the owner of the Sagittarius armor was murdered in mysterious circumstances and a tournament will be held to appoint a replacement.

There has been a rise in Vigilantism due to the increasing amount of magical crime. Anti Vigilante Corps were created to combat them. Their leader, a man by the name of Nick Fury, bears a striking resemblance to a fellow by the name of Samuel L. Jackson. Much protest ensued after he was named, so he went and scared the crowds shitless. Then he proved that he does not stand snakes trying to hijack the plane he is riding on.

The Kold Empire has recently taken an interest in galactic conquest, but lack of manpower and an inability to obtain competent personnel that isn't batshit crazy has proven conquest impossible. This is mostly a problem because their leader, King Kold, seems to have a perchant for planetary destruction and ends up just killing everyone who doesn't adhere to his, often ludicrous, demands.

Recent archeological findings may be implying that history was not only written by the winners, it was generally written by men who couldn't accept the fact that a woman could be notorious. It is, therefore, a high possibility that several historical figures previously believed to have been male might be female. Documents found in a magically sealed chest deep within the ruins of the Golden Theater reveal that Emperor Nero Claudius was, in fact, a woman who liked to dress as a man.

There have been sights of enormous spaceships heading towards Earth. Their exact contents are unknown, but there are at the very least one hundred life forms detected in every one of them, in some more and in others less, however, all of these life forms register power levels higher than the average human being at the very least some twenty odd times. It pays to own a scouter, I tell you.


	22. Mood Whiplash

**Author's Note:  
**Okay, this one, this one was actually a big pain in the ass to write, mostly because the source I was drawing inspiration to write from made me bawl my eyes out, and I couldn't quite continue writing. It was originally going to be longer, but I decided to cut it here lest it get too long, and since I literally couldn't write anymore. There is only ONE thing out there that can make me cry. I didn't cry at my mother's funeral, I didn't cry when Jesse and James had to force their pokemon to leave them for their own protection despite my belief that that was one of the greatest scenes in Pokemon history.

But I, Corrupto Ingrato, the writer of this story, AKA I Am Not Creative Enough, a confessed evil man, cried my heart out when I watched Mr. Piccolo die for the last time.

For those about to die, we salute you.

Thank you, everyone, for the reviews, as always.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 22: Another One Bites The Dust

Siesta seemed somewhat surprised at seeing Negi that morning. "Ah... What happened to you?" She asked, clearly concerned.

"... Fell down some stairs." For some reason, Louise found that inherently funny. "Well, I _did_, even if it's not actually related to my injuries."

"I'm sure Flame is very sorry for that." The female redhead of the group said, meeting them as Negi and Louise accompanied Siesta for her morning routine. Since they were bored and there were a few minutes until the agreed time to meet with Julio, Negi had wanted to go catch up with Siesta, and since Louise had nothing better to do, she had accompanied him.

"And I don't blame Flame, because I really should have been paying attention. I'm not sure how that salamander _always_ manages to sneak by me... Even when on fire." Negi said, looking somewhat uncomfortable. "Kirche, are you sure you didn't summon a Ninja disguised as a Salamander?" Hey, if Kaede could be a ninja masquerading as a man masquerading as a bear man, anything was possible! Besides, he'd seen Kaede do way more absurd things.

"What is a 'Ninja'?" And we'll omit her mangling of the word.

"A Ninja is an individual specifically trained to be a stealthy assassin. They can do all sorts of things involved with stealth, such as masking their presence, limited range teleportation and a variety of ways in which they manipulate their power."

Something like suddenly appearing right next to him was Ninja-dom. "Are you going to fight Lord Julio?" Well, it wasn't Kaede, but it was a fangirl. "Ah! Lord Negi, I don't know who to cheer for! Please, grant us your wisdom!" Okay, that was a first. Well, not a first that a fangirl had actually worked the nerve to actively talk to him, but the first in Halkeginia. Well, the first few, there were four.

"Like that?" Siesta asked.

"Just like that, yeah." Negi admitted. Hey, maybe these people had more potential than he thought. After all, he kept getting surprised constantly by things they pulled off.

Maybe he'd require less coaxing to the general populace to put his plan in motion... He was broken off his musings by the girl suddenly closing in distance and grabbing both of Negi's hands, making it turn from a fangirl's non-anguished asking for advise to something out of a cheesy romantic novel, the kind that Cattleya always denounced for never including the best parts.

There was the sound of a violin string snapping.

"Get out of here before something _bad_ happens to you." Kirche recommended, seeing as Negi was a bit too nice to say that himself. The girl, seeing two _very_ noticeable and malefic scowls pointed her way, yelped and ran as fast as fast can be. And faster, too. Negi was sure he clocked her at a land speed of 'So Fast She Didn't Even Blur'.

All in all, a mildly amusing event that used to be hilarious whenever it involved Anya actually setting things on fire. Fire makes everything funny.

"Why does everybody want to sleep with my familiar?" Louise asked, sighing.

"... Why not?" Kirche asked, still confused as to why someone would _not_ want to bone at the first opportunity. It was a new for her that outside of the people she considered prudish or who just had no interest, there would be people denying what they wanted. "I mean, he's handsome, he's charismatic, he's strong, he's a gentleman... What else could we want from him?"

Truly, a textbook Ace! Even Louise couldn't readily argue against that. Well, she _could_ argue, but it'd just be to change 'handsome' and 'strong' to 'impossibly handsome' and 'ludicrously strong' and she'd probably point out that he was also a very learned man, but everyone knew that. His lectures on crazy data he obtained using his homeworld's superior technological advancements was enough to give proof. "Miss Kirche is right." Siesta admitted. "I... too find myself charmed by him."

"Still don't know why you said no, by the way." Negi admitted, smiling sheepishly. "And I don't think I'm comfortable with you talking about me as if I weren't even here..." However, he went entirely ignored, for the three girls' conversation continued without his input even being recognized. Oh well, didn't matter. At least they were all having fun together.

"Why would _anyone_ say no?" Kirche asked, tilting her head to the side, wondering that exactly.

"Standards." Tabitha helpfully commented, not bothering to look at her.

Then everybody's heads whipped her way so fast she was worried they'd get whiplash, though it seemed Kirche would be the first to voice the unanimous question. "How? What? When?" Well, _questions_, at any rate.

"Walking. You were distracted." The little blue haired girl said, still not lifting her gaze from her book.

"... Well, I don't know what this 'standards' thing is, but I do know that _that_ shouldn't be enough to keep you away from the bliss of carnality!" Kirche said, folding her arms over her considerable bosom. "I, for myself, can testify for Negi's prowess! Therefore, it is only fair of me to share my findings with the general public!"

Oh, this would be good...

"And that was our entire night!"

After the outrage had died, Louise, Tabitha and Siesta were left as red as three ripe tomatoes. It was a mystery how all that blood in their heads wasn't harmful. I mean, seriously, there's only so much _healthy_ blushing, you know?

"... You should write erotic books." Siesta recommended. "You have a gift for telling those kinds of tales."

"I fully agree." Negi seconded.

"So do I." Louise added.

"Me too." Tabitha finished.

"Thank you." Kirche said, raising her chin up. "And here, my darling stands as a guarantee that I did not lie one bit."

"Really?" Louise asked, though she hadn't expected she'd echo Siesta's own question. Damn the maid could talk fast. And why was she even allowed to talk amongst nobles, anyway? And why did she care _now_ instead of before? GAH! All this hanging around with the peasants would ruin her image! Wait, she already had a bad image. Maybe two wrongs made a right? Well, she'd have to wait to see.

Negi, red with embarrassment, nodded his head. Twice. "... And she left some things out."

"I would've gone on too long, darling." Kirche admitted. "Although I could give you that night's journal entry. I wrote everything in full detail."

"Would you?" Siesta asked, hopeful.

"Of course! It would be against my principles not to!" Okay, maybe it was just a coincidence. He was still fairly sure Haruna would love the chance to talk to what she would call an 'enlightened' mind. Negi decided not to think about the possibility that they'd probably have whatever they produced banned for being too explicit despite being labeled as pornography. The law was weird like that.

Tabitha merely shook her head. It seemed there were things even she would not read.

"... I... I don't know..."

Kirche grinned, then snaked an arm around Louise's waist from her left side, pointing at the sky dramatically. "Don't you worry! Very soon, I will turn your closed, prudish mind into that of an enlightened person! I will make sure that you see the light! And then, we'll have a threesome!" The Germanian said, as Louise flushed more and more after every word, up until the point she couldn't actually speak out against that idea.

It didn't help that Kirche was taking the chance to fondle her behind her back, the redhead's hand kept snaking all across her back, coming to rest on the most sensitive and ticklish spots. It was both thrilling and somehow scary. Scary because Louise was starting to find out it wasn't really all that bad at all and maybe she really should go along with her suggestion...

Tabitha and Siesta glared at her. "Okay, okay, an orgy, then?" She amended.

"Not helping." Tabitha said, her voice sounding somewhat annoyed.

"... I'm beginning to regret my decision..." She said, looking at Negi, then rubbing her chin in thought. Ideas began forming on her head. She'd just have to search on her book collection for how to bring them to life. Oh, yes, she'd succeed at this most noble of tasks! "Maybe at a later date?" she added, looking questioningly at Negi.

The young man merely smiled, being, quite clearly, at the verge of bursting out in laughter at the whole situation. It didn't help that Louise made a really cute face, and she seemed to be enjoying it, even if she was more than a bit embarrassed. Though Negi wondered where Kirche could have gained practice fondling women. Halkeginia didn't seem too fond of homosexuality.

Then again, that was mostly because he hadn't seen any openly homosexual people except _probably_ the Head Chef Marteau, though the jury was still out on his case. How he seemed to cling to Negi in his every visit seemed troubling at times...

"Miss Kirche, how would you recommend I spend my promised evening with Negi?" Siesta asked, making the male redhead begin to scratch the back of his neck. Had he ever promis- Oh, yeah. He did imply he would whenever she felt she was ready. Well, it wasn't like it was a problem, right?

Before Kirche had time to reply to that, a tiny fist hit her chin, sending her flying upwards, spinning around. Negi was certain he'd seen that before...

A distant cry of **K.O.** could be heard. Then, it was oddly followed by **You Win!**, which only managed to further convince Louise that she'd gone insane. She still couldn't form words that didn't have to be censored for their content, but at least now everyone wasn't laughing _at_ her.

"Oh no! Miss Kirche is dead!" Siesta spoke, rushing to check the knocked out redhead's pulse.

"You're not human." Tabitha nonchalantly delivered. Negi burst out laughing at the whole affair. It did, however, eat the last of their free minutes to wait for Kirche to stop seeing stars everywhere.

Deciding that maybe it'd be a bad idea to make Julio wait, Negi decided to move on, Louise, Kirche and Tabitha following, because well, it would be the only highlight of the day before they had to reduce themselves to physical training.

Which they were somewhat thankful for. They knew that without Guiche, _somebody_ would have to take over Tank Duty if their usual lessons continued. Since Negi was allowing them time to actually learn how to defend themselves before taking it upon himself to show them they actually didn't know jack shit about how to defend themselves, they would take it.

Tabitha would at least appreciate being taught how to fight in close quarters with a long weapon, because after having seen how Negi fought, and having been on the receiving end once, she'd realized that being the squishy mage type was _not_ safe at all and would end with her dead.

Julio seemed surprised. "Are you alright? You look as if someone had stomped all over you." He asked, and Negi could see that despite sounding _supremely_ condescending when he said it, he didn't actually mean it in a condescending way. Mostly because someone HAD stomped on him all night long. "And then decided to stab you for good measure. Multiple times." Weird, that shouldn't be noticeable. Should have already regenerated from those long ago. "To begin with." he finished.

"I fell down some stairs." Negi said, a small smile on his face.

"Really?" It didn't sound at all convincing, and Julio wasn't a moron. "Wild night I take it." he added, because that was obviously the first conclusion he'd jump to.

"Well, the truth isn't too far removed from that, but it involved less of what you'd expect and more getting accustomed to a weaker and slower body." Negi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "So, what will it be? Wood, metal or magical swords?"

"Wood will be fine. Wouldn't want to hurt you." Julio admitted, a smirk on his face.

"Ah ha." Negi said, a smile on his face. "Well, if that's it, then you should not worry."

"Confident, are we?" Julio said, letting out a small chuckle.

"Well, of course I would be. I wouldn't dare shame my teachers by losing." He admitted, a smirk on his face.

"Should we make this a bit more interesting?" The blond young man said, removing the white dragon pin that held his cloak in place. After all, he'd need freedom of movement to fight. "Whoever wins, gets a kiss from Louise." He added, flashing a winning smile that had the girls swooning.

"That would be on Louise." Negi said, shrugging. "If you want to make it a gamble, then let's do it like this. If I win..." He said, tapping his chin. "Oh, yes, I have an idea! If I win, you will share my duties as Louise's familiar.

As they looked at each other, I began to wonder. I mean, seriously, if Julio's eyes were any more evilly slanted we could blind him with dental floss! I mean, isn't he supposed to be from this universe's analogue to the Roman Empire? What the hell, are they Chinese now? How the hell does this even begin to work? Oh. Wait. No, that's just me being paranoid.

"Very well, but if I win, then you will work as my familiar for a day." It seemed Julio was really confident about winning. Poor, poor deluded fool. Well, Louise already had one familiar, and the one she had was already trying to make her perverted, having two would just be asking for trouble, even if it was for only one day. So she prepared to decline.

"... Yeah, sure, I'm okay with that." That _clearly_ wasn't Louise's voice, but nobody cared. Louise tried to explode Kirche, but she didn't have her wand. Apparently, Kirche was already planning on annoying her all along and thus had discreetly removed her wand from it's usual holster, namely, Louise's right inner cloak pocket. Clever bitch.

"Let's begin." Negi said, smiling widely. "Derflinger, I'm sorry, but you will have to sit this one out."

"Aye, partner. Do I get to keep a first row seat?"

"Sure, why not?" Negi asked. He'd learned to put up with the sheath's movement restriction anyway, and it was great practice for setting that in stone.

A pair of wooden swords were delivered, one for Negi and one for Julio. Both were received with a charming smile, and the girl who gave them was reduced to a blushing, flustered mess who could do nothing but thank Agnes for the privilege.

The first clash was on in all of two seconds. Their swords were two blurs, but neither was giving an inch. Even as they twisted and turned around each other, it was clear that no ground was given on either side. Identical grins were plastered on their faces, although neither spoke of confidence, they both spoke leaps about what the two were thinking.

Negi stabbed forward, overextending himself, but when Julio tried to capitalize to strike his hand and disarm him, all that happened was that Negi quickly stepped forward and trusted his fist forward like a rocket. The blond boy barely had enough time to dodge, all the time praising his opponent's sudden change of tactic. An excellent feint, to say the least.

Julio stepped back and then took a step forward. Negi prepared for a downward slash from shoulder to hip, placing his wooden weapon where the attack would come from. However, it was a feint and the blond actually went for a downward stab, changing as the sword fell, barely giving Negi time to move his head out of the way and to actually place the wooden weapon on the way.

Julio's smirk widened as he realized he had his chance, since his weapon was still within range for one attack to press on. As he tried to seize it, however, he felt a powerful leg smash into his stomach. Just a few centimeters lower, and he'd have to kiss his future children bye bye. He rolled sideways, still panting for breath, as Negi's sword came down.

Nobody had missed the fact that the sword had lightly grazed Negi's side. "Careful, Springfield. If you'd been slower he would've won right there and then." Agnes snapped, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms over her chest. She was wondering something. After all, she'd proven for herself last night that Negi indeed fought better with his dominant hand..."

What kind of monster fights like that and doesn't even break a sweat? The fangirls didn't care that they were watching what was obviously two masters of fairly different methods of combat, as Julio's was clean and obviously meant to be dependent on skill and finesse rather than brute strength, while Negi was used to capitalizing on his superior physical properties with smaller weapons to be faster than everyone he fought.

"... Why don't you use your right hand? Isn't it your dominant hand?" Julio asked, getting up and dusting his white doublet off. "You insult me by holding back _that_ much."

Negi smiled and feigned stretching his right arm. "If you insist, then." With a smirk on his face, Negi changed hands and rushed forward.

Julio, however, was nothing to scoff at and therefore even as the speed and skill of the attacks coming from Negi increased dramatically, so did his. In fact, it seemed like both had actually been holding back a great deal. It was rare that their swords made contact now, since they both preferred outright dodging to blocking, and parrying was seldom more than manipulating the weapon's direction with your own weapon.

It was something awe-inspiring. Particularly since, after having been trained in combat, however briefly, the girls knew that fighting is no joke. Fighting at that level was something they could only see as the realm of sword masters.

Something Julio had started to figure out, however, was that while he was getting tired as the fight dragged on (by now it had to have been a good twenty minutes), while he tired more and more from having to strain himself to the limit, it seemed Negi, while sweating, was not growing tired.

"Monsters, the both of them." One of the musketeers spoke. "Who do you think is gonna win?" She asked to the other nameless musketeers.

"... I don't know... The blond seems pretty skilled, and Springfield doesn't seem to want to use his magic like he used against us." One of them reasoned.

"Yeah. Without his magic, Springfield won't beat a real swordsman." Another musketeer said. "I'm betting on the blond boy."

Agnes wondered if she could just give them to her vice captain to play with. After all, they were clearly not suited for their jobs if they couldn't read a fight as simple as this one. It wasn't so much a matter of skill, she was certain that they weren't too distant from each other in that regard, the thing that mattered the most was stamina.

Since they were evenly matched, the fight would be decided by who would make the first mistake. And considering that Julio was beginning to tire, he had far more chances of it being him. If she knew Negi's fighting style without his power, it was clear he wasn't holding back much. Sure, he wasn't as good a kicker as she would've liked, but even his backhands were dangerously powerful.

If he was that good without having to magically enhance himself, how good could he be if he enhanced himself to the limit? It would be something to see, most likely. Possibly the last sight his enemies would ever have... although Springfield didn't seem the kind of guy who would ever kill his opponents, one never knows. Anger is a pretty big motivator, after all.

"You three are morons. Springfield will win." The Vice Captain said, narrowing her eyes. "While the blond boy is more skilled as a swordsman, Springfield is more skilled as an actual fighter. Take note of how he fights. He does not waste movements and he prepares counters for his moves' counters. That is how a real Musketeer fights. We take every advantage we have and capitalize on them."

Agnes nodded.

The decisive blow would come soon. Julio was losing steam as the fight progressed, and by this point, it was only his skill with the sword and the fact that he'd remained out of direct punching range that had carried him to the point where he was almost starting to have difficulty breathing. Negi, meanwhile, had no such problems, since while he kept his physical abilities down to a human's level, his demonic stamina still worked fine.

"This may be it." Agnes said, her eyes widening. Julio had prepared one last ditch effort to win by showing a pretty gigantic opening in his guard. If his gambit worked, Negi would go for the kidneys, Julio would twist around and try to impale Negi as he charged.

However, it seemed Negi had anticipated that trap and actually decided to strike at Julio's neck. Apparently, _that_ was the real trap, as Julio swung for Negi's own neck before changing for a downward stab at the last second. A millimeter of extra range from striking downward would give Julio the advantage. Negi ducked and almost slid past Julio, however, he stopped at the last second, leaving a trail behind himself as he lifted the earth up, and then swung upwards from a crouching position.

Hadn't Julio moved, he'd have been cut in half... or gotten a very painful hit to the groin. As it was, he'd tried to compensate by spinning around and putting everything behind a new slash.

Their swords met, and after a small shockwave erupted, both exploded into a million splinters.

The sound of steel slicing through the air and a second, _far_ more powerful shockwave shook the air, as Negi and Julio stared at each other, pushing with their respective swords. Nobody was certain when they had been drawn. "We might be taking this a bit too far." Negi began.

"Indeed, we might." Julio replied. "This does, however, make our duel that much more interesting, doesn't it?" he admitted, being pushed back. However, he let himself lose the struggle on purpose, fluidly moving his own weapon so that it got dangerously close to Negi's face.

There was a prominent slash across the right side of his face that had actually reached the eye. "Ow." Negi deadpanned.

Then there was a massive cry of what sounded like sorrow. After all, the pretty face of the fangirls' beloved Lord Negi had just been tarnish- oh hey, it was only a glancing wound, and he could actually open the eye without much problem. They still cried, since it'd probably leave a scar.

Louise frowned at hearing a few 'Julio, meanie!' calls. Seriously, the maturity there was astounding. "Hey, you're going too far!" Louise screamed. Why didn't anyone else try to stop i- Oh, right. Agnes. If they moved to stop the duel, she'd probably beat them up.

Agnes smirked as she saw the fear she'd struck on her new batch of moron- pupils. Let's see if _they_ had the balls to openly call her a lesbian.

"No. After all, wooden weapons are too different from the real thing to compare." Julio justified, quickly swinging his weapon to free it from the blood still clinging on to it. "Are you alright?"

"This isn't even a flesh wound." Negi said, noticing that his glasses were getting dirty. He didn't have much to do about that, however, and resigned himself to seeing red for the time being from the right side.

No more need for confirmation was present, so they once again clashed, although the advantage was now clearly towards Negi. Swinging a steel blade was clearly far more taxing than swinging a wooden weapon, and it showed. The only difference was that now there was the distinct sound of steel meeting steel every few nanoseconds.

And then, they both stopped, with each other's sword at their throats. Both were laughing, while Negi noticed that there was still blood dripping down from his right eyebrow. Without anyone noticing, he resumed the flow of dark magic. Cutting off all magic flow in his body had the wonderful side effect of weakening the runes' effects on him to the point they didn't even exist, and returning the magic flow had the _other_ side effect of flooding his body with darkness, which the light of the runes couldn't pierce.

A win-win trade off, all in all.

"... That... That was amazing..."

Most people were cheering the two participants after their display, some actually brave enough to actively try cleaning the blood dripping from Negi's wound.

Agnes furrowed her eyebrows. Negi had just displayed that, even without using his magic, he'd be a formidable opponent. And she was certain that if the fight had been to the death, he'd have won. It wasn't like he could _lose_ that kind of fight.

But he had passed several chances during their last clash to finish the fight because, with a real weapon, they _would_ have been lethal to take. At least it helped her build _some_ trust in him that he seemed perfectly aware of those chances, and that he was willing to actually ask his master for confirmation before doing something stupid. She still wouldn't trust him for two seconds alone in the same room as the princess, though.

Then Negi took his glasses off to wipe them with a napkin, and Pandemonium started...

* * *

Turns out, one of Negi's suspicions was correct. Given the kidnapping, there was absolutely no way Agnes was leaving Henrietta out of her sight, which meant there was absolutely no way in which she had come to school with her Vice-Captain and left the Princess to be guarded by the, proved incompetent, royal guard.

He could commend her on the absurdly quick recovery later, when she wasn't making a terrible façade of strength. It wasn't as if she could convince him, either way, he'd gotten quite used to looking at himself in the mirror after all, and he was a fair bit older and had more experience masking pain than she had.

And of course, she had no business fooling Louise, who knew the princess like the back of her hand. Probably even better than that. She seemed kind of worried that they'd delayed so long despite her actually ordering Agnes to bring them in the moment the duel was over. She'd eagerly watched from the window, for it was always a decent spectacle when the masters fought.

Negi raised his hand. "That one was totally my fault." He admitted shamelessly. "I kind of forgot they are not used to seeing me without my glasses on."

Henrietta seemed utterly confused. "... What do you mean, Mr. Springfield?" She asked. It always was something with him, and of course, it always turned out to be amusing shenanigans. Particularly those that made Louise blush. It was always amusing to see her flustered, after all.

She'd shelve away the fact that Louise was still the same cute shade as her hair for the moment, however, and focus on the tale. "Ah, Princess, remember what happens when I take these off?" He asked, tapping the rim of his glasses as he did so.

"Remind me?"

He actually pulled them off and actually put on a charming smile. The two hit combo was a devastating area of effect attack. Probably a bloody A Ranked Noble Phantasm. The room surrendered to the walking ball of distilled Charisma that is Negi Springfield.

I swear that if this were a visual medium there would be bishie sparkles around his face at this point.

"... That." Henrietta said, blinking, completely incapable of articulating further than that. It was a mystery of life how one man could be so impossibly pretty.

"... Please put them on." Agnes commented, her eyes closed and an annoyed expression on her face. Louise suspected that she wasn't affected because she was a lesbian, though she couldn't really be sure.

"I second that." Julio commented. "It's kind of scary." He added, a slight, almost unnoticeable, blush on his face. However, that ended up bringing some _wonderful_ thoughts that were shared by a certain pair of childhood friends. In fact, something that would probably make me the target for your hatred just for implying. "And yet, at the same time, it's beautiful."

Henrietta and Louise, almost in unison, began to bleed from their noses. It was an almost completely expected event. "... Louise Françoise, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked.

"I don't know, Princess, are you thinking about how beautiful the love between two young men is?" She didn't even know why she was saying what she was saying, but she didn't particularly care. It wasn't as if she could think straight with the lack of blood going to her brain (it had been jettisoned off a short time ago, you see).

"... Indeed, I am. Do you not think that we should encourage this forbidden, if beautiful, love?"

"Absolutely."

"Oh for the love of- Just put your damn glasses back on!" Agnes roared, clearly pissed off beyond relief at the fact that he had proven how dangerous he could be, even without recurring to violence. She just wished staplers had been invented already so she could staple those damn things to his face and avoid this ever happening again.

He did so with a smile, because internally, he was laughing his ass off. He really had to do those sorts of things more often. Then he actually began laughing out loud. He couldn't help it. Their faces when he did put his glasses back on were so disappointed it was funny.

"Thank God for small mercies. I don't know how I'd live like that." Julio said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"You get used to it... Though it never stops being annoying." Negi admitted, cracking his neck. Then he muttered, in thick-accented, archaic and most of all, _very_ Britannic English. "_Bloody Rank A Charisma._"

Most people were left dumbfounded at those words, but decided not to further question them. These people just happened to not even know what they mean, so it was even easier. "Ah, Princess, why did you call us?" He asked, smiling like normal. "Have you thought up a punishment?

The princess shook her head and wiped the thin trail of blood still leaking from her nose. "First of all, allow me to thank you for what you did for me." She said, her voice very little tones away from a broken whisper. "You deserve no punishment." She added.

Negi shook his head. "I think I told you, many times, that we did nothing for you. I directly disobeyed your orders and as a result, you were injured. Therefore, I am waiting for the punishment that comes from disobeying your orders."

Louise was actually surprised her familiar would still be on about that. Normal people would just be thankful she wasn't planning to punish them, but her familiar was still on about disobeying her orders. And most importantly, he put special emphasis on the fact that he'd indirectly caused her to get hurt.

"It was my negligence that caused that. Therefore, it should be me who gets the according punishment." He added. "If you cannot think of one, then I am sure that Agnes would be happy to provide ideas." The redhead continued.

Henrietta pouted at him for a second, before suddenly seeming like a light bulb had just been turned on. "Then, your punishment will be to accept that you weren't at fault for my own incompetence." She said, with a smile that clearly said 'Got you'.

Negi had no choice but to approve of her being crafty, at the very least. "Princess, everyone has their moments of weakness. Even my masters had them, and believe me they were strong people in all senses of the word... I th-"

"What you think does not matter, on this regard, because I have already decided. Besides, I should have realized that my love was dead, and not chased after an illusion. I am not only a person, I am also the queen of a country at war." There was something wrong. That was not strength she was displaying. That was something worse than denial. That was something that Negi liked to call _swallowing the pain_. She'd just let it fester in her. "If I hadn't put my emotions above my duty, then I would have avoided it."

"Everyone makes mistakes. That is why we are humans and not gods." Negi explained, his voice as kind and understanding as he could make it. "Long ago, I thought I could protect everyone. Long ago, I thought that as long as I was around, that all of my loved ones would be safe. But then... Someone, much weaker than I was, whom I could have defeated with a flick of my wrist, decided to target someone else to get at me." Negi explained.

Henrietta seemed enraptured by the tale, enough to not question what the hell it had to do with the meeting or what they were talking about.

"I once crossed that person, and I had the chance of killing him or bringing him to Justice. I did neither, believing in that everyone could see the wrong of their ways and that, surely, the man was just doing his job. Three nights later, and even today, sparing his life is the decision that I regret the most. The man did not go for me a second time. He thought he could get to me by getting to my friends."

Louise did not like where this was going. Memories of fire, memories of a black beast crying out in agony, pain and sorrow, memories of a girl, not much older than herself, barely clinging to life. Memories of all that, flooded back into her. She felt a tear drop from her eye.

She knew who he was talking about. In the back of her mind, she knew who he was referring to. And as her familiar's voice changed from somewhat enforced normalcy to the most sorrow he had ever shown them, she found she had a knot in her throat as well.

Henrietta didn't like it one bit, either. She knew he hadn't had a particularly nice, coddled and pampered life from mostly what her spies had gathered from his conversations with the people he conversed with, but it was just reminding her that some times, even the strongest man cries. Some times, even the most cheerful and happy individual breaks.

Julio and Agnes remained silent, however, it was clear that it was mostly due to respect towards his grief.

"He targeted my first love, and in a second, took her away from me. Because of my negligence, princess, I allowed her to be taken away from me. I lost everything that night. It was five years ago, and it was the second time I killed someone. And to this day, it still haunts me that I could have prevented that, if I had just not been an idiot, if I had just brought the man to justice when I could. If I had just ripped him apart and spread his guts around the sidewalk, if I had just done that, then... Then..."

Negi was close to sobbing at that moment. Everyone had moments of weakness. He'd shown her his weakness twice now. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat.

"Then my beloved Chisame would still be with me today."

Negi noticed Louise was tugging on his sleeve. She did seem somewhat grief stricken as well. "So... that dream... with the flames... That was Chisame?" she said, her voice barely getting past her throat.

At that moment, Julio closed his eyes and, looking somber, excused himself out of the room.

Agnes closed her eyes and fell deeply in thought, while Julio remained in silence as he closed the door behind himself. Negi merely nodded. "You fell to a human fault." Negi said, the saddest smile she'd ever seen on his face coming up. "Don't worry. We all do. But... Once you hit the bottom... The only way to go is up. Believe me, it's much easier if you let your friends help you. I should know. I've been there."

"But... It's my duty... as queen... to shoulder... all the pain..." She sniffed as she talked, it was clear that Negi and Louise weren't the only two breaking down.

"Yes. And it's our duty as friends to shoulder yours." Louise quickly said. At that moment, Louise was really considering that her familiar was an asshole. Mostly because he kept making both her and the princess cry. To be fair, at least he had the decency to cry with them.

* * *

Fun Trivia: At this point, I literally couldn't write anymore because I began sobbing like a madman. What kind of useless author cannot even write because he's a crybaby?


	23. She Needs To Get Laid

**Author's Note:  
**Okay, done with Hero Mode by this point, bored as all hell and not making any progress in KoTOR because I'm trying to become rich through Pazaak so I don't have to deal with the 'I don't have any money' crap when the time comes.

Thank you, everyone, for the reviews, and I don't think I left any concerns to be addressed this time around. Yay for me.

Oh, wait, there's a large one. You doods thought I was crying about my own scene? Nah. Something like this couldn't make me cry. Literally. There's only ONE thing that makes me cry, and that is DragonBall Z. I just happened to be watching Piccolo's Death as an inspiration to TRY to write a tearjerker. As you might have imagined from reading my attempt, I'm not very good with those so any help is appreciated.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 23: Meeting The Parents

Agnes led Julio back into the room. He didn't seem particularly stricken, but even he carried an air of seriousness that could only be forceful. Negi could respect the fact that he had stepped out when he felt he was being a third... fourth wheel.

The princess was still behind Osmond's desk, although she did look much less likely to breaking down at the moment. In fact, she seemed to have dried her tears and was actually sporting a fully professional smile that was clearly fake, though you'd have to know her to realize that. Well, it was convincing, at the very least.

"I should explain this more thoroughly, but I wished for all three of you to be in the room before I did so." Henrietta began, taking a step back, her figure being hidden by the light from the window. "I wished for you to formally meet one of our allies, Julio Chesaré."

Julio nodded. "The Pope is worried about what has been going on in Albion. I was sent to aid the princess here." The blond stated, with a pleased smile on his face.

"We were trying to work to prevent war, but our efforts were in vain." The princess said, confirming his story indirectly. "The situation right now is very complicated. As it is, you are the only people I can trust, even within my court."

"However, Princess, I am personally against bringing the war to Tristain at any rate, much more so if it means bringing the war to the academy." he explained, his tone speaking more than his words. After all, it wasn't like he needed to hide that fact. "And I am certain most of the people here do not wish to join the conflict."

"I do not have intentions of doing that." Henrietta spoke, more than a little bit annoyed by that comment. "I must borrow the people's strength in order to bring peace."

"How much is enough, Princess?" Negi asked, tilting his head. "I can assure you that we do not need to enforce enlisting. If it is absolutely necessary, then I won't object but I would much prefer if you didn't."

Henrietta shook her head. "I wish it does not turn to that."

"Being ready for any eventuality is only the logical course of action." Agnes said, not taking her eyes off them. She missed the fact that behind Negi, Julio rushed toward Louise and lifted her hands, then they engaged in highly flirtatious chatter. Well, on Julio's side, at the very least.

Louise was just wondering how the hell he thought that _that_ was an appropriate moment for that.

"... If I were you, I wouldn't do that." Louise finally said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I might explode you on reflex." She admitted, after Julio had let out a particularly stupid line that she was certain she had heard before, although she couldn't quite remember where. Besides, why did everyone think she needed protection? She was _working_ on being capable of doing so herself.

"Ah, if you are fearing I might turn out to be a traitor like Wardes, don't. I have... special circumstances." Julio admitted shamelessly. "Well, then, what do you say?"

"Please, refrain from trying to take my master out on a date _in the middle of an important meeting_." Negi pleaded, quite frustrated since he hadn't quite been able to ignore that part.

"_That_ is what you care about? I mean, no reaction about the whole _date_ thing at all?" Should Louise really be that disappointed? I mean, it's not like Negi has ever shown he's even _capable_ of being jealous before. At least not on those matters. He couldn't quite talk about polygamy, and he was one hell of a hypocrite for talking about teamwork already, so he didn't want to spoil his chances.

"... Should I be worried about something else?" Negi asked. "When we fought, he laid it all out, and even after he could have just bolted and left me to my fate, he still helped me."

"I could never leave a fellow man to suffer like that." Julio quickly stated. "Bros before hos and all that, right?"

"Of course." Negi replied, fist bumping.

Louise blinked. "The hell was that?" She asked, clearly confused about the whole exchange.

"Timeless, the bro-code is always intact. Even across dimensions." Negi explained, as if that could actually answer Louise's question at all. "It's... It's a man thing." He finally simplified.

"... What? Even extremely girly men follow the bro code." Julio said, under Agnes' and Henrietta's scrutinizing stares. "No, I cannot tell you the bro code."

"It'd be breaking it, you see. The first and only rule we are allowed to talk about is: You do not talk about the Bro Code. There are a variety of ways to explain it, but no man will ever acknowledge its existence if a woman is present, so don't even try."

"Then, aren't you breaking that man code thing by explaining that?" Louise asked, clearly confused.

"Well, yes, but we can get away with it." Julio countered, careful not to bring up why.

It only managed to further degenerate the conversation into a shouting match involving the whole absurd 'Bro Code' thing that they both seemed so reluctant to talk about. Then, something about being high ranking 'Ladies Men' leaked out and all hell broke loose. Particularly since Agnes had openly joined the fray and was now making accusation after accusation.

Hell, her job kept getting harder since idiots who she'd need to watch out for only increased in threat level and amount. Why, they'd just doubled a few minutes ago. Surely, the princess would agree that they were dangerous and that they could not be trusted, rig- Why was she laughing?

The whole thing was just humiliating on several levels, mostly because even though they refused to talk about the important bits, they seemed allowed to talk about how great and awesome the Bro Code is. It seemed every man worth his salt was taught the Bro Code at some point. Apparently, even Guiche was getting it hammered into his skull. When he even had time to learn it, Louise didn't know, but if it made _Guiche_ awesome, then it couldn't be all that bad.

It only made her want to learn the basis of the Bro Code for herself. Maybe turn it into something useful. Apparently, she'd only be capable of learning it if she proved to be 'One Of The Guys', however that worked. Maybe it was too big a sacrifice, but the reward WAS something that had turned Guiche, a pathetic dot mage, into a badass Mage Knight who had some degree of charisma to himself.

Clearly, it _had_ to be worth it.

"... You know? You're an okay guy. I kind of like you already. I just want to say, that if anything happens to me, watch Master for me, okay?" Julio answered with a nod that was clearly a disguised promise, as the two continued to try to get away from the now positively livid females. If nothing else, the entire affair had been worth it just to see their angered faces.

Oh how he loved the ladies!

It was something Henrietta would have to get used to. Somehow, anything dealing with Negi Springfield would _always_, invariably, end in some absurd way that made no sense and just had to be taken for what it was. Regardless, at least everything prior to that had actually been satisfying. And now, I should probably end my thinly veiled attempt at poking fun at the manga.

However, she knew that there was still one obstacle that would have to be met before she could officially enlist Louise. An obstacle that everyone in court was, rightfully, scared shitless of. Therefore, it'd be up to Negi to deal with it. It seemed like a good idea, at the time.

* * *

Trying to get it from Negi would've been pointless, as he'd proven that his pain threshold was higher than what she could possibly dish out, and he had _legendary_ patience. So they'd gone to sleep.

Of course, that had been a move she'd later regret. Because it only helped her sister to catch her with a half naked man on her bed.

"Little Louise..." She began, her voice dangerously low. "How... how could you... And with a servant, even..." If the tall, blond woman wearing glasses (Negi was certain that the rim of those glasses could serve for an awesome pair of shades, with a small adjustment) and a demeanor that screamed 'I am a noblewoman and you should respect me for that, dammit!', hadn't kicked the door on her way in, Negi might have actually been surprised. As it was, he calmly sat on the bed and deposited a groggy and surprised Louise on it.

"My master just woke up. If you wait a few minutes, she will receive you." He said, sporting a charming, if _too_ charming smile. The blonde couldn't, in good conscience, stop herself from actually blushing at the sight and admitting that if nothing else, at least Louise had good taste.

Oh, and he seemed to be wearing pants. _Armored_ pants. How the hell could that be comfortable to sleep in, much less do... that?

"Big Sister Eleonore!"

"Ah? She is your sister, then, Master?" Negi asked. The dashing, spiky haired young man quickly stood up and bowed. "My apologies, then. If you wish for privacy..."

Louise shook her head so fast Negi might confuse her with a pleading servant.

Without paying even an ounce of attention to Negi anymore, Eleonore turned to continue glaring at Louise. If she didn't see him, maybe his presence would stop affecting her. Nobody had the right to be that stupidly handsome. "You are up early. Good. Get ready."

"W-Wha-" Seriously, with her nerves, one would think she didn't _like_ her sister or something. Well, maybe Louise was just scared of an authoritative elder sibling. Lord knows an angry elder sibling can be scary.

"We are going home." The blond snapped, as she folded her arms over her chest. Louise seemed to dress at Lightning Speed. It was one of those mysteries of life that Negi couldn't ever quite solve. After all, if one could move so fast under the correct stimulus, then what use was Magia Erebea at all? At these times, he felt quite cheated.

"Negi. Come with us." It seemed Louise had regained her composure as soon as she'd finally gotten awake. It was clear she was still somewhat scared of Eleonore, but it wasn't like she had a choice. She'd put off going home for the summer break, after all.

It seemed Eleonore knew her way around the second years' tower really well. How she did so, Negi had no idea. Maybe she had attended the academy, too? That was a very real possibility. Still, if she was part of Louise's family, there was a chance that Negi might meet the rest of it. Although Louise had pretty much made it a point never to bring the topic up, Negi felt a bit stupid to never bring it up himself.

It wouldn't do if she was convinced he didn't like talking about families because of his own family. What kind of silly person thought like- Oh, yes, a lot of people. Well, he wasn't them.

"Hey. You. Come with us." Eleonore snapped to the side so fast Negi was wondering if she was an android. Her movements were so perfect and calculated they might as well be robotic.

Negi just shrugged, and Siesta didn't feel like arguing with a noble being stupid. They do that a lot, and it wasn't like she was gonna solve it by pointing out that she couldn't just leave the academy like that. At least she got to share a carriage with Negi.

What happens in it best be left out of print.

As he watched them leave while petting his dragon, Julio wondered if his agreement to take over Negi's duties as a familiar if anything ever happened to him hadn't been the worst promise he'd ever made. As of now, it was looking downright retarded, if he were to be honest. Louise's family seemed to be, so far, composed entirely of violently insane women.

* * *

Apparently, Derflinger wouldn't be allowed into the carriage that Negi and Siesta had been shoved into. Well, given how cramped it was, he couldn't blame the servant who had taken it from him. The man seemed tortured enough to be tasked with having to put up with Eleonore, who didn't seem any more nicer when she was alone than when she was being mean to Louise.

A distinct problem with abusive elder siblings, and even if he was beginning to dislike the woman, Negi assured himself that it had to be because she was worried about Louise and not being genuinely mean. After all, elder siblings can get stupidly and violently overprotective. Lord knows Nekane actually resorted to beating women off him with sticks once or twice. And lots of magic arrows.

At least Siesta seemed to like it.

However, Louise couldn't concentrate about that fact since Eleonore was pulling on her cheek so much it actually was getting red. "Little Louise, I'm talking to you." The blonde said, clearly irritated. "You haven't paid me any attention since I picked you up, have you?"

"Not really, no." Louise admitted, then immediately regretted it as it seemed the very air around Eleonore had ignited with that comment. The fact that her scream could very likely be heard all the way back to the academy and her ears were still ringing from it would be the icing on the cake.

The noise alerted Negi, who was in the middle of doing something completely unrelated, and almost made him bolt upwards. He made the whole carriage rock as he did so, and this in turn made the horses lose their balance. The whole mess alerted Louise, in turn, who actually ignored her still ringing ears to focus on a much more pressing problem. Something about Negi's abilities regarding her gender flooded back into her memory.

He wouldn't, would he? By god, who was she kidding, he _would_, and it was starting to worry her.

"I am worried about the maid..."

Eleonore blinked, somewhat confused, her prior outburst all but forgotten. "What? Is she not with your familiar?"

"That is exactly what I'm worried about. What they might do if they are alone for such a long trip..."

Eleonore blinked. Again. And then decided to ignore that one entirely. She'd question Louise on her familiar's tendencies later. She filed the 'possible rapist' folder and decided that maybe, just maybe, she'd have to introduce her mother to him. That would scare him off Louise forever.

Of course, with me being the author, I can already tell you that Eleonore does not know who she's dealing with here.

Maybe it was consensual. But then, why would Louise allow a man who would happily do... that... with a servant when there were much more viable individuals to choose from like herse- Holy hell, had she actually thought about that? That couldn't be normal.

"My familiar has perverse powers." Louise commented, a small smile on her face at the sight of Eleonore blushing like a little girl and trying to slap sense into herself. Once she had actually managed to do so, she had entirely missed Louise's giggle. Ignoring that episode like some kind of big lipped alligator suddenly erupting into song, she continued on.

"With the militarization, I cannot let you remain in the Magic Academy." she said, seeming to fall into thought if only temporarily. When her eyes opened, she was once again glaring at Louise. I would still like to know what the hell is it with this anime and evilly slanted eyes. "That is why, when we get home, you will be trained to be a bride!"

Training. Training. Training. Something she was lacking. Something she'd partaken. Louise, quite clearly and noticeably, shivered when she made the connection about what Negi's training to be a bride would be. Stupid perverted familiar. "Ah! Don't kill me! I'm sorry, I will knit better!"

Eleonore hadn't expected such a reaction. Well, at least it'd worked...

* * *

They got there much earlier than in canon because Louise did not blow up the carriage midway, slowing everything down as they had to calm down the horses and smooth out the wrinkles caused by a massive explosion. Hurray for character development!

If nothing else, the Valliere state was _gorgeous_ under the moonlight. It was probably larger than Meridiana's dormitories, and those were in an old school abbey appropriated from a church, so they had been pretty damn huge. Though Negi was still certain that he preferred the ISSDA's offices, if only because he'd gotten used to modern architecture.

Only the most varied set of servants Negi had seen so far received them. It seemed that the Vallieres didn't give a hoot what you looked like so long as you could do your job. From young to old, from pretty to ugly, from skeletal to round, as long as they could fit in the butler uniform, you were in. He was certain Fate would snark to them about the fact that their maid uniforms were old fashioned.

"Welcome back home, Lady Eleonore, Lady Louise." They called. Although Negi would've preferred if they didn't shoot him strange looks as he walked. Then again, he was carrying a rather large sword, wearing an armored cloak, and sporting the demeanor of a proud warrior.

Meanwhile, Siesta's neck was screwing and unscrewing itself repeatedly. She knew Louise was rich, she knew she was filthy rich, but this was ridiculous. The Valliere State was gorgeous both in and outside, hell, even its courtyard shamed the academy. Even their servants _somehow_ managed to sport that same sort of magnificence everything seemed to carry. She just wished she could work in a place like this.

A rather beautiful pink haired woman awaited them at the end of both servant lines. Her warm, kind smile almost warmed Negi's heart, and had it aching for Nekane. It'd been so long since he'd last visited her...

"Welcome back home, Little Louise." The tone was _brutally_ different from Eleonore's. While she used it as an insult, this pink haired woman said it like it was an affectionate nick name.

"Big Sis!" Louise nearly yelled, bolting to tackle her in a hug. Which ended with her buried in her sister's chest. So, that was Louise's sister Cattleya, then? She'd often made mentions of her, while talking in her sleep. "Ah, it has been too long!" She cried happily.

"Ah, Louise, let me see your face." Cattleya said, wrapping her arms around Louise's shoulders. "Ah! You've become quite beautiful."

Louise blushed, and like the little girl she looked to be, she smiled and acted like a kitten would when you scratch them behind the ears. "Ah, how is your health?" she asked, quite a bit of worry laced into her voice. Negi narrowed his eyes. So, her health was a problem?

Something more that could be fixed if he got his ass in gear and started working on opening the goddamned portal. He was sure that by this point, Konoka was a hair's width away from being capable of curing anything short of death or ludicrously powerful curses.

"Thank you for worrying, but it is the same as always." Well, maybe the same as always meant it wasn't too bad... "It's alright, it has always been like this." She added, petting Louise like she were her own daughter. Negi had another pang of nostalgia. Now he was _really_ missing Nekane.

"Cattleya, where is our mother?" Eleonore asked, although her usually commanding tone had lost a great deal of its bite and was noticeably softer. Negi couldn't blame her. He figured it was hard to be mean to Cattleya.

"She is awaiting us for dinner." The older pinkette replied, still keeping her smile on.

Negi only guessed that it was about time he met Louise's mother. He would have liked to exchange a word with Cattleya, but she just shot him a kind, if a bit apologetic, smile and followed her sisters to the Valliere Estate's rather ginormous dinning room. Negi, not being one to interrupt a family gathering, would have excused himself if it weren't for Louise pointedly glaring at him with a simple command.

Deciding he better not provoke her ire at her home, he followed her and set himself to counting the... 32 chairs that were set on the table way too long for a single family about three thousand times while she got ready to eat. The walls were void of decorations. Everything had an... austere feel to it. It gave the appearance of being grand, but nothing was _terribly_ ostentatious or lavish. On the one hand, hey, it was nicer on the eye than an overly decorated dinning hall. On the other hand, he'd quickly gotten bored.

Then again, Louise's mother seemed hell bent on projecting the single scariest aura he'd seen in Halkeginia so far. The woman had something about her that made her feel scary, even if she had done absolutely nothing to warrant his attention. A most interesting individual, and most likely who wore the pants in her relationship.

Negi tried to ignore the two butlers next to him talking excitedly amongst themselves, while he laid against a wall with his arms folded over his chest.

"Mother." Louise's dialogue sounded stilted and unsure. To the point that Negi was wondering if the woman even scared her own children.

"Mother, please tell Louise clearly that she should remain silent at the table." Eleonore snapped. Okay, that was going a bit too far. Maybe she should really get the wind knocked out of her sails a bit. Maybe that could actually teach her to not be a bitch. Sadly, Negi did not have the evil score required to do that. "After all, she is a failure..."

Louise blinked. "Well, it's been _long_ since someone last called me that." she admitted, sounding less angry and more surprised.

Eleonore blinked, while Cattleya smiled, amused as all hell. Yep, bring in one of their sisterly spats! Only further hilarity when their mother chastised them both for being idiots. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I can actually cast magic, for one thing, and I also have the best grades of the second year. Not to mention, my familiar is the most powerful that was summoned this year."

Cattleya seemed pleased enough with Louise's account of facts, while Eleonore seemed mildly stupified. "How... What... Well, I knew you had the best grades in your year, but that is just academics! And your familiar looks like a plain old human to me. Prove to me that you can cast magic."

Negi sneezed, though he sneezed into his sleeve and tried his hardest to suppress any magic coming out. "Huh? Is there an open window?" Cattleya asked, as a rather cold and powerful breeze... breezed through the room. Negi rubbed the back of his neck innocently.

"Well, he is not." the pinkette said, not elaborating much more than that, until she actually saw her two sisters looking at her curiously. "... He brought down a squad of Albion's Dragon Knights on his own. And then, an entire wing of them lead by Wardes." She explained. "On foot."

Both blinked at her. "How is that even possible?" Eleonore asked.

"Beats me." Louise replied, shrugging. "Then again, I have seen him do so many things I considered impossible that I am just taking it in stride by this point. I mean, he defeated Wardes with his bare hands. _Twice_."

"That's not a proper answer... I'm curious." Cattleya said, because that didn't make sense and she wanted to know. Had they landed and attacked him directly instead of raining down spells? No, that didn't make sense, who could be so stupid? Let alone an entire squad of people _that_ stupid. And that thing about Wardes, too, the man was an experienced Magic Knight, surely _he_ wouldn't be that dumb, traitor or not.

He clearly had some merit to him.

"That still doesn't prove your magic." Eleonore continued. "Show it to me."

"One, not at the table." Louise said, sneaking a glance at the still silent eldest person in the room, although she wondered how her mother could manage to look so young at her age. She hadn't made a movement to stop them, for it seemed she was somewhat interested in the proceedings."Two, all of the spells I can use are... highly destructive."

"So, I was right, then, you were no good at useful magic!" Eleonore spoke, triumphant. Though Louise hadn't expected quite _that_ reaction...

"Well, no. My magic is fairly useful for what I intend to do. I intend to join the military." She said, flatly and plainly.

"What are you saying? You should be trained to be a bride!" A rather frantic Eleonore yelled. Even Cattleya was broken out of her content stupor, instead seemingly bewildered and startled at Louise's proclamation. "Baron Albert's second son should be perfect for you..."

Louise then turned to her familiar. He didn't seem entirely comfortable. Hey, it was an _improvement_. Then she turned back to Eleonore. "I have no intention of marrying a man I don't know." She said, with a pleased smile on her face at seeing Eleonore's ever more flaring temper. "Besides, shouldn't you get married before me? What happened about your engagement to the Count of Burgundy?"

The sound of a few dozen violin strings snapping could be heard in the distance. Odd, Eleonore hadn't had demonic, glowing red eyes of doom before.

"Oh, poot." Cattleya stated, because she was too nice to swear.

"... To talk to me like that, you must have grown only in arrogance!" Eleonore growled out. And suddenly, Louise shrank down considerably. "The engagement was canceled! Canceled! I don't even know why!"

Negi could adventure a guess. So could Louise. And Cattleya. And even their mother. And their servants. The only one who seemed unaware as to why was Eleonore herself. Well, you know what they say... because I don't, seriously, who could I quote on this one?

"... Oh." Louise said, still not daring peek her head from the hole she'd just dug for herself.

"I'm at my limit..." Eleonore trailed off, clear menace in her voice. Louise's

Negi instinctively narrowed his eyes and prepared for Shundou. Not to protect Louise, but to stop her from blowing Eleonore up and gaining her mother's ire. The woman seemed seriously scary and Negi still couldn't tell _why_.

Then said woman clapped to gain their attentions, and they both suddenly stood ramrod straight and stared at her. Okay, _that_ is what one calls authority. "Eleonore, Louise, we are in the middle of dinner. We will resolve this matter tomorrow, when your father arrives." She ordered, clearly masking the need to say 'If you don't take this shit off the table, I'll spank you both.', because she seemed the kind of woman to say so.

"Saved..." Cattleya muttered, though she didn't know _who_ had been saved there...

* * *

Okay, there was something that Negi realizes he should have done the minute he was brought to the mansion. Something that would have let him avoid many future inconveniences, because, frankly, normally it wouldn't have been such a problem.

The thing is, he was even more lost than that time he'd been thrown into a forest in the magic world. At least Chachamaru had a map and a wonderful, computer-enhanced sense of direction. As it was, he was lost in unfamiliar terrain and he was starting to think that _maybe_ staying back to dine with the servants had been a terrible idea, no matter how much the maids insisted.

Well, at least Siesta had made the way to her room okay. Some people would think that Negi should have been more annoyed by being put in the dungeon instead of with the other servants, but he didn't give two halves of a damn, mostly because the other fellows at the dungeon seemed like pleasant people that had just pissed off the Duke somehow.

Or maybe the Duchess, though she seemed the kind of woman who would just vaporize you for annoying her rather than throw you in prison

After a pleasant meeting with that Ryoga Hibiki fellow, a man who could surely use some better control for his ludicrous strength, he found himself still as lost as always. Since his situation wasn't going to change any time soon, we shall ignore his pleas and go to where incestuous lesbianism may or may not ensue. I wouldn't bet on either.

* * *

Cattleya had just finished brushing Louise's hair when she felt the need to ask something rather poignant. "Louise. You said you can use magic, but..." The elder started, sounding somewhat hesitant to just open with that.

Louise seemed troubled. "Cattleya... Can you keep a secret?" She asked, looking at her sister's pleased smile on her face. It was enough to know that she would. Cattleya was kind like that. "... I am a Void Mage." Seeing her put on a bewildered expression was kind of funny. Mostly because she was certain that human eyes were not that wide. "The good thing is, I can use the long lost element of the void. The bad thing is, I can't use any other element."

"... This... I don't know quite how to react..." Cattleya said, her saintly demeanor removed and replaced with a clear 'What the fu?'. Nothing too surprising, considering the revelation she had just gotten. "But, isn't void magic supposedly capable of doing anything?" She asked, remembering one of Louise's earlier justifications for using magic on the table.

"Well, supposedly. I only know one spell, though. It's Explosion, and it does exactly that." Louise explained, looking apologetic. "Though... I can also... another kind of magic." She added, fidgeting, not knowing whether or not it was a good idea to reveal her familiar's secrets. Considering it was Cattleya, she was inclined to, but she'd actually have to ask Negi.

"Ah?" Little Louise grew ever more interesting with each passing second. Mostly since under her curious stare, Louise was starting to crack. "What do you mean?"

"My familiar is a mage... Though he is nothing like us." She began to explain. "His magic is not limited to an element, and he can use any spell so long as he knows how to cast it. Even I can use that magic, and what I can say is that it is _extremely_ destructive." She said, staring at her own reflection.

"I have heard about a powerful individual in the academy, although I could have never told it was your familiar. Why didn't you tell me in your letters?" Cattleya asked, tilting her head. Surely their mother would have liked to know that her familiar was a powerful magician, right? Even if it'd have been difficult to believe, at least it'd prove she could actually cast magic.

"I never did have a good reason other than the fact that I didn't think you'd believe me." She admitted sheepishly. "And I have been training to be capable of defending myself, as well, so that I may be useful to the princess." Seriously, that obsession couldn't possibly be healthy. Cattleya was beginning to worry her affections toward the princess ran deeper than simple friendship, although if that was it, then she'd fully support them.

"Well, I do." the elder pinkette finished, waving everything else off. She'd deal with that in the morning. "Although I would have never expected you to stand up to Eleonore." Cattleya admitted, smiling mischievously.

"Well... Eleonore used to scare me, but since then, I have seen much scarier things. And no matter what she does, she would still never reach the torture that was my training..."

Cattleya blinked, then shot Louise a look that went beyond horrified concern and horrified surprise. And did I say she was horrified, too?

"Well, Negi was worried about me, so he concentrated extra on my training..." A lengthy explanation about their _one_ day of training ensued. A very abridged, yet lengthy explanation. Cattleya's expression went from the horror to an amused smile very soon. "And then I was forced to do it again!"

The elder pinkette was openly laughing now. "He seems like a good man, if he would go out of his way to help you defend yourself." She reasoned, once again showing her that saintly smile that made all of Louise's protests about the training being f*cking torture go away. "Though his magic does sound rather interesting, I admit."

"It is. Although I have not seen everything, I have seen a few spells. Have you heard the rumors about what happened at the Lagdorian Lake?" Louise asked.

"Apparently, someone saw black lightning strike the ground and explode in multiple directions. I heard that it left a whole section of the forest completely clear of life and that even today no animal or plant nears the area where the lightning struck." Cattleya spoke, recalling what she herself had been told about the event.

"Well, apparently, that is the strongest spell in the lightning system, Negi calls it the Thousand Thunderbolts. His is special, though, it's supposed to be white." She explained. Negi himself had admitted that it was basically because he was a walking chunk of darkness. Maybe she could... not explain that to Cattleya. "... The spell I learned from him, Jovis Tempestas Fulguriens, is ten times weaker than that. It can plow through mountains."

Cattleya looked blank. "Really?"

"Positive. When I said that I couldn't use my spells at the table, I meant it." Louise finished.

"... I am sure mother would like to know about this... Although I am not sure it would be a good idea to tell her." Both shivered to think what that woman would do if she knew Louise was a void mage. She would probably not even acknowledge her as such.

"I'm sure that Negi would be very eager to fight her... He gets like that every time someone might present an actual challenge." She muttered.

"... Is your familiar crazy, Louise?" Nobody could possibly be _that_ stupid.

"Very." She admitted. "Though he's not suicidal. At least, not entirely."

Cattleya was stunned at something like that being so freely admitted. "What... What kind of crazy, then?"

"He once told me that for a friend, he'd personally fight god. Being how he is, it wouldn't surprise me, considering what I put him through when we first met..." She began, then she blushed and began to fidget.

"... You do know that you need to tell your elder sister those things, don't you?" Cattleya asked, enraptured by the fact that she'd get gossip about Louise's daily life she wouldn't get otherwise. Hey, she had time to catch up, so by all hells she would take it. And Louise, by this point, pretty much gave up on secrecy altogether and spilled the beans on everything.

"He is... a king... from another world..." Cattleya said, blinking, not sure if she believed that. Were it Louise's words, she wouldn't doubt them. She'd always trust Little Louise not to lie to her. "I find that hard to believe." She admitted.

"I do, too, but it makes too much sense not to be true." The pinkette said clearly sincere. "His world is far more advanced than ours, and their 'technology'" She actually stopped to make air quotes, which prompted an explanation for the term, after which she continued "apparently makes everyone's lives much easier. I have trouble imagining it myself."

So did Cattleya, but she had a much easier time since she had always had an active imagination... though it was often spent in other, less family friendly things. "However, you keep talking about this young man, and for you to speak so highly of him... Well, I think you have reached the age when you start to fall in love..."

It took about two seconds for Louise to shoot up, ramrod straight, with her face redder than red, and begin spouting denials. None of them fooled Cattleya for a second.

* * *

**Omake**: Accidental Lesbianism

Running away from the battlefield, Louise felt like a coward. However, she knew that some battles really just couldn't be won. She would never be able to hide anything from Cattleya, and she always seemed to be right when it came down to talking about how she felt. Of course, she blamed it on her being older and wiser.

So, while repeating to herself how she'd go about the whole thing. She was a goddamned noble from the Valliere family, not a silly little girl, she shouldn't be second guessing herself and having doubts at all! Then again, Cattleya had gleefully admitted that she was being a bitch by forcing Louise to confront her own conflicting feelings. She, apparently, thought it was a good idea to just go ahead and do it.

However, she didn't quite have the balls to wake him up, since he seemed so dead tired that he'd covered himself up completely. With such a thin blanket, it was no wonder that he had curled himself into a small ball. She felt really, really bad about it, though mostly because he was being treated like an animal when he was _far_ from that. In fact, they should probably be treating him like the royal he was. But of course, by that point, she had already slipped into the blankets.

Before she even had time to call his name, a pair of arms snaked around her and pressed her against a soft surface. A pillow, maybe? she was too sleepy to know better. Then, something even softer was pressed against her lips. It felt kind of nice, but not like the usual feeling. He tended to be far more conservative when they kissed, and he barely, if ever, actually touched her butt like that. And then it dawned on her, when her hand went over to what she had been pressed against.

That felt an awful lot like when she groped Cattleya...

A pleased, and most notably, female groan alerted Louise to the fact that she was, indeed, groping someone's breasts. Girlish shrieks ensued. Questions were on rapid fire, back and forth, as fast as fast can be, with equally fast answers. However, it had mostly revolved around 'The hell are you doing on Negi's/my familiar's bed?'

_Somewhere else..._

A beautiful, if somewhat bitchy, blonde sleeped peacefully sucking on her thumb. She woke up when she heard someone knock on her door. Angered and tired, she went over to open it, after getting her glasses from her night stand. Then she looked at the young man who had knocked at her door. He didn't look like any of her servants. Much less the very few ones actually allowed to disturb the Vallieres' sleep were it necessary to do so. However, she didn't care at that point.

Frustration does very bad things to one's body. Particularly if you consider that it can very well cause you to ignore reason and do something thoroughly stupid. Well, Eleonore was sexually frustrated and that unknown guy who seemed to be trying to say something looked good enough. Besides... It was probably a dream anyway. There was no way such a handsome young man would ever come to her room at night. She had been rejected time and time again by much uglier men, even despite her power and wealth.

Indeed, this could only be a dream.

"... Directions?" Negi finished, getting positively more scared as Eleonore's expression changed from an annoyed scowl to an amused and _quite_ sinister grin.

_Back with our unintentionally lesbian duo..._

Louise was pointedly staring at her lap, as she and Siesta both tried to avoid eye contact. At least the maid was doing something productive by adjusting what had been Negi's blanket so they weren't bothered by the cold.

"... Let us never speak of this again." Siesta said, smoothing a few wrinkles in her night gown.

"You know what's weird? I suddenly felt something as if it were a disturbance in something. Like a familiar voice cried out for help a million times, then was suddenly silenced..." She said, shivering slightly. "I feel that I need to save Negi from _something_, although I don't know what, it probably involves Eleonore." Siesta listened intently, because it truly was something interesting to hear. After all, you don't usually get nobles spouting random madness and nonsense, and when you do, it's often so insane it might actually turn out to be utterly hilarious.

For a second, Louise seemed to stop, as if a second, mistifying vision came her way. It seemed to be a thousandfold as horrifying as the first one.

"It seems like all those times Cattleya said Eleonore desperately needed to get laid _somehow_ will now belong in my nightmares for the rest of my life."

"Scary." Siesta opined.

* * *

Oh, yes, I did just do THAT what you just read. This omake? Actually in-continuity. So yes, what you just read, happened. Peace.


	24. Heavy Storm

**Toaster's Note:  
**Fact, after posting this, I'll go play Age Of Empires 2.

Also, I'm sure you doods weren't expecting that excuse to get Louise and Negi to fight. Yes, I am happily admitting that that is an excuse.

Aelreth (Anonymous Review): Yes. Youtube can help with that.

As always, thank you everyone for your reviews and do visit the Negima Fanfiction Thread on Tv Tropes.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 24: The Bad, The Worse and The Worst

The duke was not what you'd expect after seeing his family. Even if he rocked a badass moustache and goatee combo, it was clear he was entering his forties, while his wife still looked no older than her late twenties _at worst_. The one who had actually inherited his blond hair, Eleonore, had shiny, almost golden hair, while his was faded from age.

It was kind of depressing to see that he looked as if he could be their grandfather instead of their father. Still, he continued ever forward, as any man who has the balls to wear purple who is not named Trunks would.

That, until he reached the balcony where the important women of his life were currently having their breakfast.

"So, I hear that Louise has returned."

It was these times that the Duke felt he had indeed had three children with the same woman, as they all broke off from their scheduled hedonism, meaning a nice cup of tea and strange looking loaf of bread that he _knew_ was probably anything _but_ bread. At least Eleonore was capable of changing her expression to something else, a cross between boredom and surprise.

It never surprised him to see the fact that Cattleya and Louise took after their mother, even if only subconsciously, in their mannerisms. Heck, Louise was a carbon copy of his wife's teenaged years. Except without the ludicrous badassery.

But he was thankful for that. Lord knows having to put up with _two_ would be the death of him. Cattleya was already showing her _ludicrous_ magic potential, which had only been hampered by her sickness.

He also noticed the strange, coat wearing servant that hadn't been there before. Most likely, the human familiar Louise had been talking so intently about. Well, it was kind of interesting to finally see him. He did not look like much, but he knew for a fact that appearances can be deceiving, particularly when magic is involved.

And as much as he looked like a warrior, standing proud with a sword's hilt poking from behind his shoulder, there was no mistaking the fact that his presence in magic was quite imposing.

"You arrived late. Were you held back by the military meeting?"

Louise blinked, seeing the fact that her mother seemed unusually cold that morning. Perhaps she had had trouble sleeping? Her room _was_ close to Eleonore's, and apparently, there were weird noises coming from it late that night. Nobody had mentioned it to the blonde herself. Some times, it was better not to ask.

"Yes. I must leave again soon." He said, looking more than a bit tired. He neglected mentioning that because, well, his wife looked somewhat tired too and she probably wouldn't take kindly to him not being at his best. "The world is in strife. We may be at war, but getting the troops ready so quickly will most likely send the town into panic. The queen will have trouble."

"Father." Louise began, pausing for a second to rethink what she was going to say. "I wish to join the war effort." The smallest of the women said, suddenly standing up.

"Listen, Louise, you need to stop forcing yourself to learn magic." The man said, turning to his youngest. "Just return here and become a bride. We won't be discussing this any longer."

"Father!" Louise almost yelled.

"It's decided, let's hurry and start working on getting you engaged!" Eleonore said, and there was a spring to her step as she paced that _terrified_ Louise. It seemed she was so darned content since that morning that nothing could quite anger her. Even speaking about her engagement hadn't worked. There was something _wrong_.

"Mother, Elder Sister, forcing Louise to marry so suddenly would only disturb her."

Then, for the first time since they'd actually begun eating, their mother decided it was time to speak. "Louise, do you have an affair?" The fact that she could say something like that so calmly was one of the many reasons Louise knew lying to her was pointless.

Not that it'd stop her from trying. "No! I don't have anyone! I just..." Then, a brilliant idea occurred to her! She could blame her reluctance to get engaged on Wardes' engagement turning out for the worse and probably get away with i- no, wait, that plan wouldn't work. Her mother wouldn't give a shit about that...

And the fact that she'd thought of red only made the color show in her face.

"It seems there is someone Little Louise likes..." Eleonore mused.

"Who is he? What family is he from?" Said her mother, narrowing her eyes into a glare that could probably punch through mountains.

Eleonore actually put a hand on Louise's face and leaned close to her ear. "A Count? A Baron? It couldn't be a lower class, right?" Surely, Louise would have better taste tha- Wait a minute... Eleonore knew this. Could it be that the Familiar could be... no. Louise couldn't possibly be attracted to someone who wasn't a noble, right? Much less an animal, no matter how handsome he might be, right?

"A king, actually." Louise blurted out, and then slammed both hands on her mouth, as if to punish it for betraying her. Eleonore suddenly pulled back, somewhat shocked though less than she'd have been if it had turned out to be her familiar.

No matter how handsome and _good_ in her dreams that man might be, he was still an animal, right? Louise couldn't possibly fall in love with what amounted to her own personal dog.

However, it was exactly the moment that same familiar chose to facefault in. "... That was unexpected." Cattleya said, looking at the fallen familiar. "Are you alright, Mr. Springfield?"

"Yeah... Yeah... I'm okay. I was just surprised, that's all." Negi admitted. There is something that needs to be explained here. The thing is, Cattleya has _long_ hair. Since she just happened to be kneeling over the fallen familiar as he got up, some of it fell on his face. And the tips of it did something unthinkable and unforgivable. "Thank you -ah- for wor-ah-rying"

They tickled his nose. Negi Springfield has a very sensitive nose, and even negligible stimulus like that can cause him to sneeze. And since he was distracted because he was thanking Cattleya for her concern, he couldn't quite concentrate on what was an admittedly more important event.

Having enough sense from getting this fact pounded into his head, he quickly turned his face away from Cattleya, before letting the magic loose.

This, of course, meant that he'd aimed at the table. There was only one person still sitting at the table when the raging winds of Exarmatio passed by, reducing anything softer than rough, coarse and hardened Leather into petals and taking away anything that might possibly be used as a weapon, meaning anything, from the target's hands.

A pink haired woman who used to have her hair done in a bun not a lot of seconds ago blinked, then looked at the fact that she was supposed to have a cup of tea in her hands. Then she looked herself over. She was supposed to have been wearing clothes not too long ago. That was odd.

Well, there was the familiar that had sneezed _just_ as the wind passing by, and who looked positively mortified about it. Well, while she didn't _quite_ know what had happened, at the very least, she had a target for immediate release.

"I'm so, so sorry!" Negi said, clasping his hands together.

"Eleonore. Wand."

The sheer coldness in her voice prevented the blonde from doing anything but complying. Such a lovely, obedient daughter she was. Maybe if she had been stricter with Louise, this wouldn't be happening, since she'd have disciplined her familiar better. She pointed the wand at the still mortified familiar and without even saying anything, a razor sharp hurricane erupted from the tip of her wand.

Negi's eyes widened, as his jaw fell. He didn't have time to do anything more than shove Cattleya out of the immediate proximity, although he suspected that it was nothing more than useless, since the wind didn't rustle a leaf in the forest surrounding the Valliere Estate. Instead, what it did was create a variety of cuts on Negi's body, some deeper than others, and completely eliminate his coat.

Some so deep that bone was visible. And the fact that his arm hadn't fallen off was a miracle in an of itself.

The blood turned black, darkness gathered, and then Negi was whole again, his face still as surprised as ever, though this time carrying quite a bit more wonder. For her part, his attacker seemed utterly _baffled_ about his recovery. Negi grinned when she pointed her wand at his bare upper body.

He would commend her on having _less_ of a nudity taboo than Asuna after she'd been nudified for the umpteenth time. Then he was already in the air, having jumped so as to avoid collateral damage. He knew for a fact that casting a spell silently took more time than just yelling the spell's name, when you aren't quite used to the spell.

Given he had little to no time, he opted for verbal activation. "_Κρατιστη Αιγις_!" A complicated, overblown barrier system was put in place just in time for a second, more powerful hurricane to hit it. She hadn't been holding back on this one, and it showed since it actually broke a few of the superficial barriers and Negi actually felt the wind.

She narrowed her eyes. A third hurricane came forth, while the second was still swirling on the air. The razor sharp blades caused small cuts on Negi. Then he noticed the third had been merely a decoy while what looked like one single lance of wind cut through the eye of the hurricane... And the magical barriers. He actually had to dodge that one.

"Such tremendous power. I hadn't expected to meet someone so powerful on this world." He said, with a smile on his face. "However... A single one of those won't ever hit me." He admitted, as he fell from the air, landing on his feet as if he'd just jumped a few inches when in reality it had been at least thirty feet.

"What makes you so certain?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. She didn't give a shizzle about modesty, and it showed, because she didn't even try covering herself. It seemed that actually surviving her attack was enough to convince her he was a threat. Though

"I am confident in my ability to dodge." Negi admitted, an apologetic smile on his face. "I really am very sorry, it was an accidental discharge."

A long time of begging her to forgive him ensued, while Negi assured her that it wasn't fear for his life but genuine remorse over doing what he had done, even if it had been an accident. And a short interrogation about how the hell he'd healed so fast. Natural regeneration, huh?

Well... She had to admit it to herself. It had been indeed far too long since she had last flexed her muscles. It would most likely be interesting to have an immortal punching bag, at any rate.

"You are interesting." The woman said, closing her eyes for a full ten seconds. "Be ready in half an hour. You will compensate for this." she said, taking the coat one of her servants offered her and departing, leaving behind an empty table and several bewildered individuals.

Louise, Cattleya and Eleonore had finally figured what the hfil was going on. "... You're going to die." Cattleya and Eleonore chorused, while Louise's face couldn't decide whether it should be excited or worried. The mix was kind of funny looking.

"... What does she mean?" Asked the clueless familiar.

"Well, mother's compensation... Is probably beating the crap out of you." Eleonore replied, with confirming nods from Louise and Cattleya. "... Can't say it _hasn't_ been a pleasure..." Eleonore admitted, fidgeting slightly. While he didn't know it, she had dreamed about him last night, and it would be sad to know that such a man would go, even if it was the most dignified way a man could die.

Probably.

"Please, you must run away!" Cattleya stated. "Mother doesn't know the meaning of holding back!.. Literally!"

Louise, meanwhile, smiled. "Actually, I've been wanting to see how he compares to mother for a while. Besides, he can't even die, so that's not a problem."

Negi got a completely deadpan look on his face. "Glad to see you are worried about me, Master." he said, changing that for a smile. "But, I kid, I am curious too. Those spells she threw at me were all extremely powerful, and I could sense she wasn't giving it her all. She didn't seem to want to _kill_ me at any rate, even if she did go overboard with the first attack. That one would've probably left me in bed for a few months at least if I weren't, you know."

Cattleya and Eleonore were too stupified to do anything about that fact, however.

"You know, I want to know why it is that no matter where we go, you _always_ end up fighting someone. Some times multiple people."

"Trouble follows me everywhere, Louise." Negi admitted. "It always has."

* * *

It had taken Negi all of two seconds and two casts to be ready. So he stood, with his arms folded over his chest, at the designated place. Apparently, his opponent had banked on her daughters knowing the usual place she would've preferred to engage in.

It had been twenty nine minutes when she did show up... On a ludicrously huge, ancient manticore. The thing made Dragons look positively tame, and it was already making Negi further anticipate the fight.

Cattleya had given up when Louise had confirmed that he won't die even if he is killed, so they were watching from a distance.

"I commend you for not escaping. Or have my daughters perhaps not made my identity known?" The pink haired woman, now in full armor, spoke. She held in one hand a sword-wand much like Wardes' own, and in the other, what looked like a mask that would cover her face and render her unrecognizable.

Clever.

The manticore left, going off to do whatever ancient manticores do when they aren't being ordered to do things. Presumably, eat things.

"Well, they haven't. May I have the pleasure?"

"Of course." The woman said, her eyes narrowing. "I am Karin Desiree de La Valliere. My runic name is Karin of the Heavy Wind."

"Very well then. My name is Negi Springfield Entheophysia. I am called The God Of Lightning. By the way, I must commend you on getting past Κρατιστη Αιγις, not many people can boast about that." Negi admitted freely. He knew it himself how much of a pain that barrier was to get by personally, and these days he just resorted to crushing it. After all, he'd developed an ability explicitly for that purpose.

"Your confidence is refreshing." She admitted. "However, I admit that this was only convenient. I wish to test your ability to protect my daughter as her familiar."

Negi smiled and nodded. Apparently, all she did was for her children. His head dropped down for an instant as his smile turned sad. "I understand." He admitted. "And again, I apologize for earlier."

However, the time for words was over, as the second Karin adjusted her iron mask, she unleashed a rather powerful, and Heavy, Wind. See what I did there? The raging hurricane tore through the clearing, gouging out a trail behind itself. Negi's eyes widened at the sheer speed as he was actually forced to use Shundou to avoid it.

It'd only been a minimal movement to cast it!

With another Shundou, he was already in front of her, however, her weapon's shine alerted him to the fact that it was enchanted to slice through him. Karin stabbed at him, but Negi twisted around and avoided, and used that moment to take a step back so as to avoid the incoming flurry of stab attacks.

However, that was not enough, as soon, she began actually combining her attacks into one combination after another, and there was already a variety of cuts on Negi's face as it was starting to become progressively harder to block, let alone avoid fully. Derflinger yelled something about getting his guard up, but it was a little warning that only managed to barely save Negi's left arm from being cut in two.

There was no comparison with Wardes. The bearded man was good, but he was nowhere near close to this woman's skill, strength, and speed. Negi pulled Derflinger with both hands and began frantically blocking. He slapped one attack away particularly harshly, which left Karin overextended, and then he moved to slash at her shoulder. It seemed that, unlike Wardes, she didn't care for etiquette and punched him rather roughly on the face as he moved on to continue the attack. She had a mean left hook.

It disrupted his balance for an instant, and Karin used that time to put some distance between herself and her opponent. With a pointing of her wand, she sent not one, but three wind lances at Negi, one after another. In truth, the first two were _very_ weak, meant to be only distractions that would fool Negi into thinking he could block all three.

Negi slapped the first two with Derflinger as they neared, but the third managed to get through his guard, Derflinger seemingly incapable of absorbing that much power at once. This resulted in the lance shredding part of Negi's guts away while it passed, leaving Negi to gasp in shock, before the darkness converged and he was whole again.

Negi then realized that simply physical skills wouldn't win this fight. Another pleased smirk found its way to his face, and then he took to the air, pointing his hand forward. "Sagitta Magica, Series Fulgoris!" He yelled, pointing his hand forward.

The pink haired warrior looked up at what seemed like an avalanche of lightning projectiles. Wardes would've been green with envy. She didn't care, however, and pointed her wand at the center, where most projectiles would be caught. With a muffled cry, a wide version of her concentrated hurricane erupted, clashing against and taking out the majority of the arrows before they could become a threat. The rest, however, accelerated and came her way.

She was forced to block those she could, but the fact that they were electrified made it dangerous, as all the metal she was wearing made her a wonderful target for lightning. She rolled to her side as arrows began hitting the ground behind her. A few were blocked by a quickly casted simple Wind spell.

But the three that did hit felt like she'd just gotten punched by a ten foot tall gorilla, not that she knew such a thing even existed to begin with.

"Those were one hundred and ninety nine arrows of lightning." Negi said, as he touched down. "I can cast about two thousand at once." He added.

The pink haired woman knew why he didn't just do so. Her blocking them with a weak wind spell proved that they were easily dispelled, or that any impact with a solid surface would make them detonate. If so, then it was quite easy to guess why he didn't just toss a million of them her way.

They'd just get in each other's way, and most would be so tightly bunched together that she could take almost all of them out with a single spell. A rather bad drawback. However, if it was used against an entire army, it could hit thousands of soldiers at once, and if the hits she'd just experienced were anything to go by, it'd probably knock a grown man out with one hit.

Not too shabby, all in all.

"But most importantly..." Negi said, suddenly appearing below her. "... they can be delayed!"

Before she had time to question what he was saying, his left hand hit her squarely in the gut, which rattled her armor for a nanosecond. However, that wasn't all. "_Raika Houken!"_ he cried, at which point she felt as if at the very least one hundred of those things erupted from the spot where his fist had landed on her gut. Wide eyed, Karin could only attempt her best to get out of the way of the delayed attack.

However, even a glancing blow was devastating, as it tore through her armor like paper and the electricity that ran through her body was the proof that some had hit, even if she was numb from shock. It had also launched her very far away. Forcing her body to respond, she somersaulted and landed on her feet, ignoring her groaning bones.

When she felt him coming again, she stabbed behind herself, and lo and behold, Negi impaled himself in her blade. It seemed that he couldn't tell where he was going when he used that teleportation technique, and an educated guess had her going a long way, as Negi pulled back, nursing the spot he'd been cut in.

From what she'd seen, it took him a second to make a 'jump', regardless of the distance. Enough time to counter, if she could guess where he was going to appear from. She used the fact that he had only taken one step back to unleash another hurricane on him, which pushed him away. That was a new record, he'd broken four trees before he was stopped. That _had_ to have hurt.

They were at the edge of the clearing now, and it was sporting the scars of their confrontation already.

Karin felt her blood boil and her instincts scream. He would be coming in from the left, no doubt having noticed that the Lightning arrows had struck her there. So she put the sword in the way and, guess what, Negi had stopped just a few inches from it.

Then he seemed to remember that she was a mage, and showed her a face that said 'This will hurt, won't it?'

Now that she knew that he would regenerate no matter how hard she killed him, she didn't bother holding her power back so as to not do just that. What could only be described as all the power of a regular typhoon crammed into a tiny ball hit Negi. And then it exploded. And sent him flying, a missile trailing blood.

Again, he somersaulted and grinned from the air. Evidently, she was indeed far above anything he'd faced in Halkeginia so far.

Maybe even worthy of him using the big guns. _"Κιλιπλ Αστραπη!"_ He cried, as he felt one thousand thunderbolts gather in his hand. The pink haired woman did not waste time, raising her wand and, with a muffled shout, releasing what Negi imagined was the strongest spell she could under the circumstances, to get in the Thousand Thunderbolts' way.

The explosion ensuing was nothing short of spectacular. To the point even the Duke saw it, and he was in his study!

Karin was not done, however, and she unleashed another Heavy Wind on Negi, who raised his hands and hastily erected a rather powerful barrier that was meant to last only a second. When the barrier fell, Negi was already moving. In fact, he was already slashing down. The pink haired woman cursed that technique that allowed him to practically teleport across the battlefield for a second.

Despite having been surprised by the quickness of Negi's recovery, Karin raised her wand blade to block Derflinger, being pushed back by the sheer strength the attack displayed. However, she quickly gained her footing and, placing her free hand on the hilt, she pressed on.

Their blades pushed against each other, neither giving an inch, for a few seconds, before Negi kicked away and smirked at Karin, who seemed to take a moment to regain her breath. A moment was all Negi needed to sheathe Derflinger and raise his right hand, palm to the sky.

"To be quite frank, I hadn't expected you to be _this_ good. So far, I haven't had a real challenge since I got here. Well, power-wise, anyway." Negi admitted, a smile on his face. "You are the first person to force me to use this. Congratulations."

_"Dextra Emissa Κιλιπλ Αστραπη. Stagnet."_ Soon enough, there was a small, yellowish-white ball floating above his palm.

Far in the distance, Cattleya and Eleonore turned to stare at Louise. "What is he doing?"

"You will see." Louise replied with a small smile. She didn't know what it was about those two fighting that made her so intrigued to see. Sure, they were the strongest two people she knew, but... Being a closet battle maniac was her familiar's field, not hers. Even so, that technique seemed similar to the one he'd shown Fouquet. That technique... _was broken as all hell_. Surely, the fight would be over after this, right?

"Complexio." Negi said, clenching his right hand into a tight fist. Then, the ball crashed into a thousand pieces, which were absorbed into Negi's skin, which began glowing. His hair trailed behind him, reaching his knees, now purely white. Even his coat had been bleached white by the power of his spell. "Supplementum Pro Armationem. Η Αστραπη Υπερ Ουρανου Μεγα Δυναμενη."

He smiled. Karin's eyes widened, and then she felt a rather powerful fist hit her in the stomach, where the hole in her armor was. This time, she felt what Raika Houken felt like in full force, as she screamed out in pain from the ludicrously powerful attack hitting home and sending her flying away.

She was, however, a master of the wind, it was the one thing she trusted the most. Therefore, it was clear to her when the wind shifted. He was not just a massively powerful lightning mage. She smirked to herself. Using her own element against her? Fool.

The shift was instant and it preceded his appearance, but just from the advance warning, she was able to put her sword in the way. It seemed, however, that that did no good, as he was, while shocked, very much unharmed, although his image was a bit distorted since her weapon was where his eye should have been.

Then, with a scowl on her face, she casted another hurricane where his brains should have been, splattering him all over the clearing.

Panting and breathing hard, she watched the bits of lightning reform in the figure of a young man, who sported a frown. "Why is it always the bloody eye?" He asked, no one in particular.

Karin looked as if it was a stupid question. It sort of was, actually. "It is a weak spot." She said, removing her mask, taking in some much needed fresh air. She steadied herself. "You are, indeed, as strong as the rumors go. I take it you were the 'demon' that appeared in Tarbes."

Negi nodded. That hit a little too close to home, but she couldn't possibly know that, right? "Why do you serve my daughter?" She asked, her eyes narrow.

"Why not?" Negi replied. "She summoned me to be her familiar and" and then he gestured to the runes on the back of his left hand. "if I didn't want to, I would be forced to eventually."

Karin was left to think that over for a few seconds. "What is the guarantee that you would protect my daughter?" He understood her concern, after all, _all_ mothers were like that. He had once heard about his own mother's reactions when it came to danger possibly coming to her son. Down to mass murder to ensure his safety, if need be.

"Duchess, " Negi began, unsure if that was the way in which he should refer to her "I love your daughter. She is my friend." He said, a kind, small smile on his face.

"Well, you proved you are capable of protecting her at the very least." Karin finished, shaking her head, exhaustion creeping up to her. "However, this isn't over yet."

"Oh, actually, it is." Negi said, a smile on his face. "This is not my full power, but you are at your limit." Negi said, almost managing to startle Karin. "While I am very impressed that you could see Raisoku Shundou's weakness... I can get past it."

Everything happened too fast to be seen, but after a brief scuffle, Negi was pressing a transparent, cracking Derflinger to Karin's neck. "Impressive." Karin admitted, relaxing. "You are not, however, a human being. What kind of beast are you?"

"I was once human. I traded my humanity for power, however." Negi said, lowering the blade.

"Power?" She asked, her eyes narrowing. It seemed she was dancing between mistrust and grudging trust.

"Power to protect my friends. I ended up having to be the one protected, though." He added, laughing cheerfully. "From myself."

Proud to the end, Karin only now started to show the pain from her left side.

"You are a far better swordsman than I am." Negi said, wiping the blood off himself. "However, I am a far better barehanded fighter than I am a swordsman." he added, a smile in his face. "It was an incredible fight. It's been so long since I've had to take a fight seriously that I kind of forgot what it felt like. Thank you very much."

Karin nodded and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"... Easy there. You have a few broken ribs. You should probably avoid moving on those for a couple months."

* * *

Cattleya blinked. "... Little Louise, did your familiar just defeat Mother?" She asked, turning to said pinkette.

"It seems he did, Big Sis." Louise blinked, not actually entirely convinced of it herself. More than once she'd wished she'd see her mother _and_ her familiar go all out. But she hadn't expected it to be so... so...

Well, she couldn't quite put it to words. She had seen her mother's signature spell used _several_ times. She had seen Negi actually going all out in a fight, and even if it had finished the moment he did, it was still something that she hadn't quite been expecting. Maybe it hadn't quite been his full power he had fought with, but he had actually been forced to take the fight seriously.

That had to be the first time her familiar _really_ tried since she met him. So far, everything he had met had been just plowed through with little to no problem, even at the times when he'd seemed defeated he had actually simply held back the majority of his power. Hell, even when he was holding _all_ of his magic back, he was still insanely impressive.

And let's not even begin to gush about the fact that she'd seen her mother stand up to someone who could probably take on an elf in direct combat! She was still amazed at what her mother had displayed.

Besides, seeing Eleonore's face when she noticed she had treated one of the most powerful mages _ever_ as an animal was _priceless_.

* * *

_In the Duke's study..._

The Duke was caught between a sword and... And whatever the hell that familiar was. Hard place wasn't a correct analogy. It was like being caught between a sword and a f*cking meat grinder, even though he didn't know what the latter actually was, he still had a general idea. God, I love being the omnipotent author.

"Father, Negi himself is teaching me how to fight. And you must have seen that even Mother approves of him in that regard." Louise said, a somewhat smug smile on her face. It felt so good to be on the winning side for once.

The only male of the Valliere family sighed. "Louise, your familiar seems to be, as Karin so lovingly put it, _overpowered as all hells_. I trust that you will protect my daughter from any who will mean her harm?" He replied, turning to Negi for the latter half of the sentence.

"Sir, for your daughter, I would personally fight God." Negi said, smiling in a way that made the Duke actually consider believing him. He dismissed that, because nobody, no matter how powerful, could possibly be that crazy. Well, he'd always heard that the more powerful you get, the crazier you become, but that hadn't affected Karin herself, had it? Maybe it had, and her insanity had just manifested in her tendency to just blow shit up instead of trying to solve her problems in any other way.

"I guess we cannot keep a noble sleeping in our dungeons. We will find you a guest room." The Duke spoke, rubbing his goatee as he spoke.

"I am not a nob-" Louise harshly stomped on Negi's toe.

"That won't be necessary, Father, we will be returning to the academy soon, at any rate." Louise quickly said, smiling a saintly smile stolen directly from Cattleya. "I understand you are a busy man, so I will go now."

The Duke scoffed. "You are going to leave without giving your father at least one hug? I thought I taught you better, Louise." The Duke said, a large smile on his face.

Blushing, Louise did as commanded. "It has been nice seeing you again, Father."

Negi looked away, a sad smile in his face. Louise glanced his way for a second, and already felt the guilt coming her way. After all, she was displaying that she had a loving father when Negi...

Okay, maybe that was even more depressing that she'd thought. She didn't know what she'd do if her father suddenly died, but it was worse to think how she'd be if she'd been forced to mercy-kill him. The mere idea was already bewildering. And the event itself, although she didn't know why, seemed to be a pretty graphic memory of her own...

"I will be worried, but there is not much I can do. I will trust this man to protect you, Louise. Now, go, I wish to have a private chat with him." He said, waving her off.

"Thank you, Father." She said, closing the door behind herself as she left.

"What is it that you wish to speak about, Sir?" Negi asked, smiling as well as he could. "I assure you that I have absolutely no intention of betraying your trust."

"I wouldn't fear for that. Karin seems to believe there is truth in your words." Valliere spoke, his eyes narrowing. "However, if I hear that you touch even a hair of my daughter's, I will personally hunt you down and shove my cane where the sun doesn't shine. Do I make myself clear?"

Negi laughed. "I assure you, Sir Valliere, that I will not touch your daughter..." At that, the Duke sighed, closing his eyes. "... Unless she asks me to."

Then he exploded again. A string of expletives regarding what he'd do if he found out Negi touched Louise inappropriately followed. "... You are a noble, boy, but I do not know which family you belong to nor your rank. I understand that being placed as a familiar must be fairly demeaning. However, we might be able to work things out for both of us if you decide to marry Louise."

Negi narrowed his eyes. "Even now, you intend for her to become a bride?"

"Hell no. By the looks of you, I'm sure training would be pointless anyway." The Duke admitted. "But it would solve us quite a few problems. I need to know what family you belong to and your rank, however."

"Not to offend you, sir, but if I married Louise, things would get ugly... very fast." He said. "I assure you that a political incident of epic proportions would ensue and that my friends would kill me. Or they'd try, at any rate."

The bearded man blinked. "... You have a harem?" He asked, fixating on that. The fact that his friends would kill him if he got married meant he was probably dealing with scorned lovers. The very idea of it seemed so strange that he could not help but be fascinated. If he could have a harem, then he was probably a very high ranking individual, and if he was a high ranking individual, surely it would be a good idea to marry him to Eleonore...

"Well, not really, we're just kind of... an extended family." And that confirmed it. "Although some of them do call themselves my lovers."

"And are you really okay with that?" It seemed that the man had just now gotten a fatherly streak to him, and he seemed really worried about that kind of relationship. Though it seemed he spoke from experience, Negi couldn't possibly believe that Lord Valliere would have been like that when he was young. Well, maybe he could, but Negi would've had to search his background and he wasn't that kind of guy. "I mean, I know that those kinds of relationships can get pretty suffocating."

Louise would've told him, anyway.

"Well, yes. I love all of my friends." He answered. "Although I do admit it gets pretty tiring at times, it is also great exercise."

"... I no longer fear for my daughter's safety. However, I am beginning to fear for her innocence."

"I think Kirche took that one away years ago..."

* * *

While slouching _on_ Tabitha, Kirche sneezed, then lifted her head from the blue haired girl's shoulder. "Ah, Darling must be thinking about me." She said.

Tabitha looked at her. "Let me go." She said, looking pointedly at the hand still clamped around her shoulders.

Kirche just shook her head. "I am going on withdrawal, Tabitha. Julio is the only man at the academy worth placing my eyes on and he's not interested in me! Ah, I need my darling!"

The blue haired girl simply hit her face with her palm, just wishing that they returned soon enough, otherwise Kirche might lose her patience and use her as a substitute for men. That could not possibly end well for either of them...

* * *

**Omake**: Really Shouldn't Have Asked That

"Did you... Ever touch my daughter?"

Negi was mildly stunned by the question. "... Which one of them?" Negi asked, tentatively.

"Why do you need to specify?" The Duke asked, somewhat confused.

"Well, I haven't touched Cattleya at all, I have touched Louise plenty, although most of the time it is not the kind of touch you are thinking of, and Eleonore kind of tried to rape me."

"Eleonore did **what**?" Valliere screamed as he got up. He couldn't believe his daughter would do THAT without an engagement!

"Well, I kind of wandered into her room yesterday's night asking for directions, and she just sort of pulled me in and then..."

After a while, the horrified Duke sat on his chair, still trying to process what his daughter had done.

"I must admit, she was surprisingly skilled."

"Just... Just go away. Before I do something very stupid. I need a second."

Negi shrugged and went on to help Louise pack her things.

"... Stupid perverted familiar."

* * *

So... I'm really sorry if the Negi/Karin fight did not meet your expectations!


	25. The Author Lies!

**Autor's** **Nota:**

As always, a big thank you to everyone for dem reveiwses. And... Hey, I can't update any faster. To think that I was originally going to go for a chapter a week, now I'm releasing at least three... Well, this has exceeded my original plans, at any rate.

The Flying Frog: Negi does not just go all out and curbstomp everyone he fights. He actually tries to use adequate force when he fights. Usually, this ends up looking as if he's not even trying to fight, however, which greatly annoys his opponents and himself, since as much as he and his mother deny, they are both blood knights. Finding Karin, who could actually keep up with him, was quite refreshing for him.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 25: In Which Many Explosions Ensue (Though I May Be Lying)

Karin watched them leave, as her daughters and husband waved, she instead had a hand still clutching her side. They would have to wait until the healer they sent for could arrive. Such ludicrous power...

"Whatever that thing was, it most decidedly wasn't human." She said, glaring at the retreating carriage.

"Agreed. Eleonore, I must have a chat with you. _Now_." The Duke said, turning to his eldest daughter.

Without saying another word, Karin the Heavy Wind turned around and headed back to her house. The God Of Lightning, huh? Well, it seemed she might have underestimated her daughter if she had summoned such a powerful magical being. However, it only brought up further questions, since her familiar meant she should have a lightning affinity, and she had never seen Louise use a lightning spell.

There had to be something more to both her daughter and her familiar, but what could it be?

* * *

Tabitha thanked fate that Kirche got _something_ to fixate on, while silently praying for Negi's mental health.

At least it'd mean she'd be able to ask Negi about the theory behind Cantus Bellax, because it was proving harder to get right than she'd expected. It turned out being simpler than she'd imagined, but she had to get used to a spell with a matrix that went against everything that she was used to. Particularly because her knowledge of anatomy was rather limited, and Cantus Bellax required knowing how muscles work.

An impromptu anatomy class ensued, and it only helped convince Louise that Negi was, in fact, a walking library. He countered with the fact that his knowledge is rather superficial and that going in depth would reveal fascinating things about how the body works. And also discrepancies with how it works and how it _should_. It wasn't something simple that just took two seconds, but Tabitha wasn't particularly weak in the academics department.

Sure, nobody could _quite_ boast Louise's dedication to her studies, but Tabitha was no slouch, either. Still, increasing the flexibility of her muscles would likely prove hard, and it was a vital part of the spell. If she didn't, it'd probably end up damaging her muscles instead of empowering them. Of course, it would've helped the learning process if Kirche hadn't considered her lesson a good moment to try and go do... that... with Negi again.

* * *

The Vice Captain was feeling like violence. "Repeat this a thousand times!" She yelled, as the morons she was training didn't do absolutely anything right. Sure, one or two of them actually had the faint idea of how you hold a spear, but the rest? They could barely even fight by using them like clubs.

What the hell _do_ they teach in the magic academy? How to make souffle?

At the very least, they seemed inspired by Negi's own dedication, as he seemed to be exercising under Agnes' own directions. Apparently, he was kind of tired of being out of shape, or so he said, and he started to train like he usually did. Meaning, he was doing push ups while Agnes, in full armor, stood on his back and pushed him down.

That familiar just got weirder every second.

However, Agnes then jumped off his back, making it a point to do it as he pushed up, so as to gain more distance with her jump. "Hold!" The Vice Captain cried, letting Agnes take the stage.

"Well, brats, we have decided to listen to your pleas." She said, sounding disgusted with her own words. "Today, we will teach you to use magic in the battlefield."

Louise's blood ran cold. Why must every good thing come to an end? Of course, her luck was never good, and she could never quite run away from her for long. It was just a given that she'd eventually come back to haunt her.

"Therefore, we have a special guest from Oriz Magic Academy, who will guide you."

Said special guest took a few steps forward. "I am Eleonore de la Valliere. Even though we have just met, I hope that we can all learn together, okay?"

Julio took a step closer to Louise. "... That's your sister?" He said, with a hint of trepidation in his voice. He'd seen, firsthand, the fact that Eleonore had a temper that dwarfed Louise's. It probably wouldn't end well for him...

"... Unfortunately, yes."

Julio sighed and wondered why it seemed that he liked psychotic women, re-evaluating his stance on the matter... Sure, he was certain that all crazy women were probably great in bed, but still, sometimes, just that wasn't enough...

* * *

"Believe it or not..." I'm walking on air, I never thought I could be so free!.. What? "Her Majesty Henrietta asked the Academy for my transfer." Said an overly proud woman in her newly assigned room. It was the first time Negi saw the staff tower.

"Really, the princess did that?"

It was a wonder that the very queen let that slide. Maybe she just liked the title 'cause it sounded cuter. Whatever, Eleonore had something else to worry about right now. "Her Majesty asked me specifically to help you. Apparently, you had taken some tasks from her." Eleonore said, placing her hands on her hips and turning away from Louise.

The pinkette felt somewhat insulted at her tone, but otherwise remained silent. Best not to provoke crazy women.

"What the hell?" She asked, suddenly turning around again. "You, who can't do anything magical..."

Louise wanted so hard to just explode her right then and there to show that her explosions were, indeed, magic.

"Anyway, couldn't have been anything important. This is a great chance, I will be watching all of your movements here!" the blonde continued. "Just to make sure you don't lose your way before your marriage." She said, giving Negi a pointed look as she did so.

Negi looked at her, deadpan. A gentleman does not call a woman a hypocrite to her face. He does want to do it, however, but must remain polite at all times. Besides, that is not how Negi Springfield rolls.

The sound of a puppy's bark and small paws hitting the ground at great speeds alerted Louise to the fact that there were two animals currently running around and playing in the room.

"Huh... Those are... Big Sis!" Louise cried, just as Cattleya walked into the room, past Negi. "You came to the academy, too?" Well, it had at the very least, raised Louise's spirits, which was something he could be thankful for.

"Of course. I came to help Elder Sister." She said, winking at Louise as she did so. Eleonore, who was not paying the attention she should have, did not see that blatant sign of her being in cahoots with Louise.

"You should have stayed at home with that weak body of yours." It was very damn clear that Eleonore did _not_ only have her bitchy mode. Apparently, she was a great deal softer regarding Cattleya, but then again, it seemed like everyone was that way. "Well, you did want to come here to see Little Louise..."

"Ah! I'm so happy that Big Sis came to see me!"

To be honest, so was Negi. It was kind of heartwarming to see Louise act like the little girl she looked like. It seemed, however, that such a proclamation had actually upset Eleonore, who began to pull on Louise's cheeks. "That should be my two sisters, right?" She yelled.

Both Cattleya and Negi actually burst out laughing at the sight. Then, the redhead turned to the older pinkette. "... Do you need someone to unpack for you? I have this evening free." otherwise, his brain would get fried from too much information at once. Besides, he still hadn't made much progress, mostly because, as it was to be expected, there was nothing about dimensional travel in the academy's library.

"Oh, we wouldn't ask something like that from you..." Cattleya said. Eleonore nodded. He wasn't, after all, a mere servant. No, with what he'd done, she was still wondering whether she should be scared shitless of his very presence or aroused. Stupid dream kept coming back to her every time she looked at him.

It seemed Cattleya didn't really mind the fact that he'd _defeated their mother_ in single combat much. "Oh, but I insist." Any gentleman worth his salt knows that you always offer to do the heavy lifting. Even if the woman you are offering to can kick your ass. _Especially_ if she can kick your ass, as a matter of fact. So Kotaro learned when Negi asked Kaede to help him teach Kotaro etiquette.

After ignoring memories of hilarity for a few seconds, Negi concentrated on the real world instead of on his memories. "Oh, I'd be very thankful for that."

"Very well then..."

And so, Negi escapes from the moment of violent family bonding! Or is it bondage? I don't even know anymore...

* * *

There is something that should be known. Negi is someone who can get entertained with anything that makes him think. He's the kind of person who could probably be entertained for hours with a sufficiently complicated puzzle. He is an intellectual man, is what I'm saying.

Therefore, it was clear that he'd get somewhat interested by the logistics of fitting all of Cattleya's underwear in the relatively tiny drawers that he had been given to place them in. He only wished he'd gotten his practice by playing Tetris, at least then he'd have a faint idea on how to go about it. So, as he seemed to be thinking while holding a bag filled with nothing but frilly and sometimes racy unmentionables, Negi was starting to doubt that suggesting himself for such a titanic task was kind of moronic.

But, nothing like a difficult task to keep him entertained and the mind working!

He was so concentrated on that fact that he actually forgot that he was in a room still filled with tripping hazards. Which he tripped on. You see where I'm going with this? He landed, face first, where most of his cargo had fallen. For a minute, he felt very much like an ermine, as he pulled his face back.

"... Negi?"

Oh. Crap. "Siesta?" Negi asked, raising one eyebrow. "I swear this is not what it looks like."

"You mean you didn't trip and fall face first into a pile of panties?" Siesta asked, giggling like mad at the image of the oft inhumanly awesome mage in such a situation.

"... Well, then, it's exactly what it looks like." Negi said, smiling and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"You thought I would confuse you with a panty thief?"

Negi did not like the fact that he could have accused of being like Chamo. The ermine had been, after all, Negi's main reason for why he had absolutely _never_ strayed from his path as a gentleman intentionally and of his own will before certain events made that pretty much impossible.

"... You did." Siesta said, deadpan.

"Sorry?" He offered, rubbing the back of his neck and grinning like an idiot. Siesta laughed, removed her shoes and sat on the bed, clearly trying her best to begin helping him pick up the panties that had been thrown all over the bed. "Ah, thank you!" He said, as soon as they were all neatly folded together again.

"You should really leave these things to me. You never were good with the underwear." Siesta pointed out, with a sly smile on her face.

"It's just... A gentleman shouldn't be handling a woman's underwear except in... certain occasions..." He said, sheepishly.

"Well, Miss Valliere has really cute underwear!" And she said so while holding a particularly racy piece. Seriously, how come their underwear was so _tiny_? Hadn't they ever heard of modesty? That seriously couldn't be comfortable, right?

Well, Negi, you'd be surprised.

"It wouldn't fit me, though..."

"Don't say that. You are pretty cute yourself, Siesta, you shouldn't undersell yourself." Negi quickly replied, making her brighten up again, because, well, apparently she was just fishing for a compliment. Negi didn't even realize he'd bitten the bait.

"Then, it should be okay to try it on..." She said, a perverted smirk on her face, as she lifted her maid uniform's long skirt, revealing her more practical white underwear that was probably cheaper to produce than Cattleya's own silky underwear. Could it possibly be cotton? Nah, they didn't seem to know what cotton was...

"I don't know..."

Negi wondered, for a full minute, if all the women he knew were, one way or the other, perverted. It just occurred to him that _maybe_ he was a magnet for perversion or maybe he caused it on people, because Siesta didn't bother even _turning around_ before pulling down her underwear, displaying her naughty bits to Negi who blushed crimson and proceeded to cover his eyes with both hands.

"Negi, Cattleya asked if you are don-" Louise blinked, stopped hitting her wand against her palm in a somewhat catchy tune, and stared, completely dumbfounded, as Siesta herself blushed crimson.

Apparently, Negi hadn't quite noticed her, being too busy being the monkey that didn't see.

"..."

The silence was suffocating.

Negi opened his eyes, and stared at Louise. "Uhm... Hello, master?"

"... Miss Valliere?" Siesta said, waving with more than a bit of embarrassment, falling down to a sitting position, her panties still around her ankles. However, it would only be because of this distraction that she'd even allow herself to suggest something like that, because she remembered a certain, distant event, and the one thing that Negi said could fix such an issue. "Threesome?"

Louise moved her mouth, pointing with one trembling finger at the still red familiar, getting red herself at the mere idea. However, she took a deep breath and steeled herself. Her familiar was free to do that, after all, she couldn't order him around. He was both far more powerful than herself and also above her in the social ladder. At the very least, it wasn't Zerbst... again.

However, reflex still had her pointing her wand at him. She would explode the maid, but unlike her, Negi could actually take it. Hell, he would probably be completely unaffected, or it'd be blocked by a barrier. Then she realized that trying to make an explosion at that point would be pointless. "Just get done with the unpacking." She commanded, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She could already feel a headache coming.

The maid hastily pulled her underwear up and put down Cattleya's, and after a few seconds, they were indeed done with the unpacking (Meaning, Louise told them that Cattleya kept quite a messy room, since her pets liked sleeping on her spare clothes, which explained why she had so many), however, before they could actually go tell Cattleya of this fact, an explosion distracted them.

It meant Siesta would probably have to clean something, so she sighed in annoyance. Really, couldn't nobles _ever_ solve anything by talking? Or at least do it in a way that wouldn't force her to clean debris? Negi wasn't always around to help with the heavy lifting, and given the Head Chef had recently injured his hand (sticking a knife through it was a terrible idea, all things considered), he wouldn't be either.

Negi sighed. "Not a day will go by in which there won't be something exploding, but this time, I'm just glad it's not my fault." He admitted. "Where did it come from?" It was those days that he wondered if Osmond had re-hired Fouquet as his assistant. She tended to go overboard in punishing him for his perversity.

"It came from Old Osmond's office, let's go!" Louise said, for once being the first one to slip into duty mode. So they ran. Well, Negi and Louise. Siesta went to see if anyone else was on duty.

"Mr. Colbert, what is going on?" Louise asked, as she finished climbing the stairs leading to Old Osmond's office.

"I came to learn that, myself." Colbert admitted, before returning to the door... or the hole next to it, in any case. "Apparently, someone might have forced entry into the Headmaster's office." He explained from what he had gathered.

The Osmond, flanked by Agnes and the Vice Captain, turned around. Osmond was, for once, not actually carrying a jovial air around himself. "There is nothing to see here. It was just an accident." He said, though the graveness in his voice said otherwise.

"Everyone return to your rooms calmly." Agnes said, as the musketeers got around to pushing the crowd of students (and Colbert) back.

"But..." Colbert protested.

"Go back to your rooms." Agnes repeated, this time not even bothering with feigned politeness. She really wished that the mages were less self entitled, maybe then they'd understand simple commands.

"This will be investigated by the Musketeers." The Vice Captain clarified, earning an odd look. "Everyone else, please, step out." It seemed that she wasn't much for feigned politeness, but was still better at it than Agnes.

"... I still want an explanation for what I just saw." Louise said. "Now that I have calmed down." She clarified.

"Ah, that. Well, it's kind of a long story, actually..."

"That will have to wait." Agnes interrupted. "Springfield, I need to speak with you. _Now_." She said, her glare not allowing for anything else to be said as Louise sighed and slumped. Agnes' authority was sanctioned by the princess herself, therefore, she'd have to heed it for the time being.

"I will be expecting you to explain later." She said, taking the stairs down.

Negi's eyes narrowed as he entered serious mode. Apparently, something important had actually happened. "Louise. Go ahead of me." He said, before wandering into the room, only to find Julio leaning against a wall. The blond waved at him briefly. It was kind of odd to see him there already, but Negi only guessed he'd been closer when he heard the commotion.

"The thief broke the safe while I wasn't here." Osmond stated. "However, my familiar caught her in the act. I am fairly certain that she was female and had a rather large chest."

Agnes slapped her forehead. "Of course you would see that, incompetent old man." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Were all mages taught to be incompetent as a rule? Seriously, it was starting to get on her nerves.

"She was agile and had good reflexes, so she got away from me. However, I managed to tag her with this." Osmond said, raising a seal with a circled pentagram on it. "This is a special magical symbol that can only used by me. It should glow under the faintest influence of magic."

"So, what are we supposed to recover?" Julio asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"The Ruby of Water and the Ruby of Wind." Osmond explained. Negi narrowed his eyes. That couldn't possibly be. "A few days ago, Her Majesty asked me to store them for her for her own personal reasons." He said, with a heavy voice. "The ones stolen, however, were imitations." He admitted, with a smile on his face.

"Imitations?" the Vice Captain asked, clearly curious.

"Yes. I do not have the genuine rubies." Osmond explained. "The Ruby of Wind is currently in Romalia, I have a friend who is watching it for me." He said, a smirk on his face. "And the Ruby Of Water is within Miss Valliere's possessions."

Negi shook his head. "No. Louise thought it might be dangerous if she kept it herself. She tends to lose little things. The Ruby of Water is here." Negi said, fishing into his coat's pockets to produce said ring. It was, indeed, the genuine article.

"Is it alright to ask two foreigners to watch something so important to Her Majesty?" The Captain mused, looking somewhat surprised.

"They are safer than in the vault or the palace." Osmond said. "The trip to Romalia is long and my friend is trustworthy. And I believe the safety of the Ruby Of Water is guaranteed."

"Indeed, if I'd trust anyone with it, it would be him." Julio admitted. "That goes for both rings, actually."

"There were no tracks of anyone leaving the academy." Agnes stated. "And the only two entrances are the Valliere sisters."

"Hn. A spy amidst our own?" Julio asked, way too pleased with himself.

"Indeed." Agnes finished. "That is why we need you two to help us." The musketeer added, nodding at Julio.

"The culprit most likely uses Earth magic." Osmond stated. "There were no sparks, no wind and no water. Whilst every mage right now is a suspect, our two biggest suspects are..."

"Cattleya and Eleonore." Negi said, closing his eyes. "Louise is not a suspect because she was with me when the thief broke in. And if she had exploded this place, there wouldn't be debris." He said, rubbing his chin.

"Indeed. However, the Valliere Noble Family is not famous for being loyal to the crown." Agnes stated, causing Negi to blink. Sure, the Duke was against war, or at least so sudden a war, but to be against the crown? It appeared that they still weren't completely out of feudalism in favor of absolute monarchies. Well, it didn't matter, either way.

"As a matter of fact, they have been undermining Her Majesty's plans since she assumed the throne." The blue (actually blue instead of cyan) haired captain spoke, taking a step forward. "They could probably use the rubies to have a claim to the throne."

"They are likely suspects." Negi admitted. "However, I do not know their elemental affinities."

"They must be investigated." Agnes finished. "I will go with Chesaré and check the students. Michelle, you will go with Springfield and check the teachers."

"Captain, no offense, but I do believe that Springfield can do such a task on his own." Michelle, the Vice Captain, spoke, taking another step forward. "We would just get in each other's way."

"Springfield is too polite to do it fast." Agnes' commanding tone was a bit frightening for most people, but her subordinates were well used to it. "He'll need you to hurry the process up."

"But..."

"Are you disobeying a direct order?" Agnes said, narrowing her eyes.

Negi looked at Julio, who looked at him. They both shared a knowing look. The Musketeer Vice Captain was acting rather strange there. Normally, she would obey Agnes' orders without making a fuss about pretty much anything. It seemed that Julio knew something Negi didn't, and even though they were somewhat on the same page, that was quite clear.

Julio's eyes went to Michelle, who still seemed to be getting a speech from Agnes about what happened to undisciplined soldiers, and he made quite a clear gesture. He pointed at her and then nodded.

It seemed a bit far fetched, but Negi would give Julio's theory a go.

"Once this seal is used, not even a triangle class mage can remove it." Osmond spoke. It was quite clear that he took some pride in creating that. It did sound awfully convenient to have a magical seal...

"Springfield. The culprit will have the seal here." Agnes said, pointing at the inner side of her right breast. "Find it."

* * *

"Hn. How do you suggest we go about this?" Negi asked, walking behind the Vice Captain, who he'd just learned was actually named Michelle. Nice to know, since calling her Vice Captain would've quickly made the conversation awkward.

She stopped suddenly, however. "I will leave the Valliere sisters to you, and I will go check the teachers." She said, turning to face Negi. However, the redhead just smiled.

"We were ordered to do this together, weren't we?" He asked, with that same pleased smile in his face. "Besides, I am _not_ going into Eleonore's room alone _ever again_. Bad things happen to me when I am alone." He said, his smile faltering a bit.

Michelle blinked. "... We should hurry before the thief has a chance to escape." She said, fully turning around.

"Ah, but if the thief is a spy, they very likely wouldn't want to escape just now, because then they'd make a target of themselves. Surely anyone who would know that the Rubies were being kept in a safe in the Headmaster's office would also know that I live here." Negi said, smiling widely and, if I'm allowed to say it, a bit smugly. "And not to boast, but I am quite fast on my feet." He added.

"Even so, the thief could likely escape by disguising herself as one of the maids running an errand." The musketeer continued, taking a few steps forward.

"You may be right. However, I'd still be thankful if you could at the very least accompany me to Eleonore's room. It's... kind of scary." He admitted, smiling apologetically.

"Urgh, fine. I will accompany you to the Valliere sisters' rooms, but then we will split up." The Vice Captain of the Musketeers spoke, as they just happened to be on the door that lead to Eleonore's room. Negi, ever the gentleman, gently knocked on the door.

Since there was no answer, Michelle just opened it and barged in. Apparently, Eleonore didn't know locking her door was sometimes a good idea.

"Who's there?" She asked, her hand shooting for her wand.

Negi raised a finger to face level. _"Lux"_ he said, as the room lit up from a ball of light being emitted from the tip of his finger. "Hello again." Negi said, waving.

"You... You're Louise's familiar, aren't you?" Eleonore asked. Then she glared at him, and fetched her glasses from her night stand. "Yes. You are. What is it?" She asked, not in the mood for an interruption.

"Nothing much. Just looking for a thief. We need to see your right breast." Negi said, trying his best to be diplomatic.

"What? You're looking for a thief and you come for _me_? Don't you know who I am?" She asked, her indignation clearly noticeable in that she would even be _thought_ of as a possible suspect. She went for her wand again.

"This is just making you more suspicious." Negi said, sighing. "I can assure you it will be nothing I have not seen before." And that was the absolutely wrongest thing to say, but since Eleonore was pretty much half asleep anyway, she didn't notice.

"Just show us your right breast, woman." Michelle stated, slapping her forehead. "Then we can move on."

Eleonore was about to say something when Negi began shaking his head. "It's not her." He said, before even having to check.

"That is better." Was what came out of Eleonore's mouth, though she still looked pissed.

After narrowly dodging a bullet, Negi and Michelle walked out and Eleonore went back to sleep.

"How did you know?" Michelle asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, the thief that Osmond saw had large breasts and Eleonore is quite flatchested." Negi said, smiling. At that moment, Colbert just happened to be walking around. Michelle seemed mighty pissed that the chance meeting evolved into a rather lengthy conversation. However, she still kept her mouth shut.

Mostly because she couldn't quite threaten her companion to hurry it the hell up, not considering he could hand the entire Musketeer Corps their asses on a silver platter. And that fact pissed her off to no end, because then they were in Cattleya's room. The moment they stepped in, small cute and fluffy animals began surrounding them, begging to be held up.

Several piles of clothes rustled. Negi once again pointed his finger to the ceiling. _"Lux"_, he said again. "Hello, Miss Cattleya." The prodigy mage said, waving at Cattleya.

"Hello, Mister Springfield." She replied, giving him a wave in response.

"I am really sorry to bother you at this time of the night, but we are looking for a thief that is hiding amongst the student body. Now, don't believe that I suspect you, however, protocol dictates that we must check everyone."

Negi stole a glance to Michelle as he said that, who seemed nervous. Julio's theory held more weight every second. She had been far too eager to part with Negi, and now she seemed nervous to be in his presence.

It couldn't possibly be a coincidence.

"Certainly." Cattleya said, making a show of her good nature by actually sitting on the bed, removing her covers. "What is it you need to do?"

"We must check your right breast." Negi explained, with a smile on his face. "I am really sorry for the inconvenience." He added.

Cattleya shook her head. "Oh, do not worry about that. You may proceed to clear out my name." She said, pulling down her neckline to expose her right breast. There was, indeed, no mark whatsoever on it. However, before Negi could report his findings, the upper right corner of the wall (if you go from the door), exploded open, revealing the clear midnight sky.

All of Cattleya's animals quickly ran back to their owner, surrounding her as if they were trying to defend her. They were absolutely cute.

A few bits of debris had fallen on Michelle, who just knocked it aside as she stood back up.

"What was that?" said Agnes, as she rushed into the room. "What happened here?" She repeated the question with a different phrasing.

"It seems someone must have attacked us." Cattleya said, turning to Negi, who had actually taken the few hits that would have come in Cattleya's direction. The redhead was smiling graciously, however, and didn't seem to be in pain at all. "Thank you." She said.

"No problem." Negi said, pulling back.

"Michelle, disperse the crowd." Agnes ordered, stepping out so that no little brat tried to go into the room while Michelle herded everyone else away. Eleonore was allowed to get by, however, seeing as she was Cattleya's older sister and all. Louise soon arrived after her, as well. It seemed like the duke and duchess would get there soon, as well, and then it'd be a family reunion party!.. Yeah, no.

After both musketeers were back in, Agnes turned to Cattleya. "You are an earth mage, right?" She asked.

"Yes." Cattleya replied.

"Could it be, an attack on oneself to throw us off her trail?" Julio asked out loud. This caused Negi to put a hand on Louise's head, lest she shoot like a rocket. He winked at her, smiled and silently told her to stay put.

"What do you mean?" She asked, far less excitedly than she would've wanted to. She was actually burning with rage at the possibility that they'd dare to blame Cattleya, but Negi seemed to have discreetly told her that there was something else to all this. Well, she'd trust her familiar not to betray her over something like this.

"The culprit has a mark on her chest. Based on that, we are investigating everyone in the academy." Agnes stated, then she turned Negi's way. "How did investigation with her go?"

"Well, I was interrupted before I could finish." Negi said, smiling slightly.

"Miss Cattleya must have broken down the wall to throw us off her trail." Julio said, leaning against the wall next to the window, being barely illuminated by the moons his eyes imitated. "Maybe she was even hoping to cover the seal with a wound..." He added.

"You really think that Big Sis could attack the headmaster?" Louise asked, insulted that they'd think such a thing.

"Well, we have already checked every student capable of Earth magic." The blond said. "There aren't many choices remaining."

"Captain. I found these two hidden amongst a pile of clothes." Michelle said, offering Agnes a pair of rings. One was blue, the other was purple, it was very clear what they were.

"Those are..." Louise said, blinking as she saw the rings. Then she looked at Negi like he was a traitor.

"The Ruby of Wind and the Ruby of Water. Well, the imitations." She spoke, her voice now calm and collected again. "Captain..." Michelle spoke, as it took her a couple seconds of staring at them before turning to Cattleya.

Louise blinked. There was something odd. When the rings are brought together, they should be producing a rainbow... "Miss Cattleya, will you confess it now?"

Cattleya shook her head. "I do not have anything to do with this. There must be a mistake." She said. Louise looked similarly shocked.

"You know, this little charade is starting to get old." Eleonore said. "It could not have been Cattleya because she was with me when the thief attacked." She said, narrowing her eyes. "And in order to get to the Headmaster's office, she would have had to pass through this room, at which point Louise, the maid and her familiar would have seen her."

Negi nodded. "And even if that weren't so, she does not have the mark." He said, smiling widely. "I wasn't interrupted at all." He added, taking a step back.

"Then, who could it be?" Michelle asked, noticing that she was in the middle of a circle created by powerful individuals.

"Old Osmond recovered a few hairs that fell from the thief's head. He may be an old, incompetent fool, but he does keep an immaculate working place. Therefore, we can safely conclude that these are from the thief. And... they are blue." Agnes stated, holding a few hairs that the headmaster's mouse had gathered for him.

"There are many hair colors in this academy, but... blue still remains a rare color, nonetheless." Julio said, a smile in his face. "... And it seems that they are the same shade as your own, Vice Captain."

"The thief must be using some strange magic to disguise herself." Michelle concluded. "This woman must be her accomplice, she should be arrested." She added, pointing at Cattleya.

"Vice Captain. Expose your right breast." Agnes commanded.

"This can't be..."

"It is an order." Agnes said, her eyes narrowing further. She folded her arms over her chest and dropped any pretense of informal friendship.

"I can't follow such an insulting order." She said, hanging her head.

Negi sighed. Julio was right, after all. "As a matter of fact, Old Osmond knew that the culprit was among us, and lied so we could recover these. The Ruby of Water is indeed fake, but the Ruby Of Wind is real."

Michelle gasped.

"Why so surprised?" Julio asked, nonchalantly.

"It must have really been annoying to know that you went through all of that effort only to learn that they were fake. You were angry and frustrated and it showed." Negi said. "And then, you decided to incriminate Cattleya. Your insistence to get me out of the way so that you could properly set up an incriminating scene was what ended up tipping me off, to be quite honest. Well, that, and Julio telling me you were the prime suspect."

Said Romalian smirked and nodded. "So you weren't..." Louise trailed off.

"I didn't doubt Miss Cattleya's innocence for a second." Julio continued.

"Captain, I am not the thief!" Michelle cried. "If I need to, I will show you..." She ripped her shirt open, exposing her cleavage and a glowing pentagram. However, before Agnes could do anything about it, she got the leather thrown in her face. She heard the sound of a weapon leaving its sheath.

Blood hit Agnes in her face, but the blade never came.

"Not happening." Negi stated, having blocked the blade with his own hand. Michelle leaped back, and Julio's hand went for his own blade.

"Captain, you suspected me from the start, huh?" The revealed thief said, clearly angered.

"You have always done your job without complaining to the point that I admired your dedication. However, your past was unknown." She said, as Michelle backed away against a wall, the window covered by Julio, the door covered by Negi and the semi circle closing in on her. "But with the things that kept happening, it became clear to me that who was hitting the palace had to come from the inside!"

"Fighting is pointless." Negi said. "You may as well surrender."

However, she smirked and lounged for Julio. The blond quickly disarmed her, but had to move away from the window to do so. That was all that she had wanted. In front of her, before she crashed into it, the window exploded, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Rushing, she continued her run, despite the wound on her arm Julio inflicted when he disarmed her.

She had to leap as far as she could, and when she did she knew that there was no way she would be getting away.

Negi stood in front of her, and before she had time to do much of anything else, he raised his hand. _"Aer Capturae"_, and with those two words, six shining, greenish beams erupted from his hand. The arrowheads at the front of the beams did not cut or pierce her, but they did wrap around her and restrict her movements, then stabbing themselves against the ground.

She did, however, have her right hand, which still held her wand, free. Well, the wrist, anyway. When she _tried_ to cast a spell, however, a loud gunshot snapped her attention to the fact that she was no longer holding it and couldn't nurse her most likely very damaged hand.

"Nice shot." Negi said, looking at Agnes, who was watching from the spot where a window should have been.

"So, if this is done, I am going back to sleep." Eleonore stated. "Cattleya, your room is thrashed. Come sleep with me for the night." She said, taking a few steps forward. "Little Louise, it is quite late, you should go to sleep as well. Now is not the time to play around like children."

Louise sighed, but noticed she'd have to comply. Well, she couldn't sleep with Cattleya, but hey, she had the next best thing, a pretty damn close second...

* * *

No omake for this chapter, folks. Couldn't think of anything. Hope ya'll like it.


	26. Royal Pain

**Author's Note:  
**

Fact: I had absolutely no idea what to name this one so I kinda winged it.

As always, thank you everyone for dem reviews.

Aelreth (Anonymous Review): Glad to see you make the connection.

Laconeko (Anonymous Review): Glad to see you like them. Any and all running gags are accidental on my part, however, as I'm making this up as I go.

Mitsukuri Tsukiyama: Possibly hilarious, but it would be difficult to work in. Particularly if I want to run with the 'Totally Lesbian' joke.

The Flying Frog: I have a theory. Every second in command _ever_ is evil and plans to betray their superior. It's a law. Those who aren't are the exception, not the rule.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 26: Royal Rumble..?

Albireo smirked. "Ah, Kitty, how nice of you to come see me." He said, leaning back on the comfiest armchair he could find. "How is your research going?"

Evangeline growled at him, but otherwise did nothing, as her robot maids got to work on serving them both a cup of tea. Eva never went anywhere without them, as she'd gotten far too used to their service to do anything herself anymore. Albireo blamed it on Chachamaru spoiling her. "I need your..." She mumbled.

"Ah, what was that, Kitty? I couldn't hear."

The centuries old vampire was wondering if she could get away with mounting his head on a pike. It wasn't like that would kill him, she'd have to destroy his real body to do that. Maybe she'd mount the book on a pike. "I need your he-e-e" She couldn't force herself to say it. It just went against everything she stood for. And it was _Albireo Imma_, the man is such a ginormous jackass that she was wondering if it was really worth it.

But... No, she was starting to get frustrated, of course it was worth it.

"You need my help, Kitty?" Albireo said in song, smiling like the jerkass he was as he did so. Oh, how he enjoyed watching every second. "Goodness gracious, what could force the great Dark Evangel to seek the help of a humble man like me?"

"Two things. One, I need help with a spell. Two, I need help to remove the Iceberg that's on your house." Evangeline said, a scowl on her face that would have frightened even the mightiest of men.

"But there is not an Iceberg-" Albireo was cut off by three quarters of his home freezing and the fact that there was a gigantic spike of ice lodged on it. "Oh, I see what you did there." And if he was annoyed, his smile certainly didn't look it. "No matter, I like the new decoration. Too much time without a change gets stale."

Evangeline wondered, again, if it was really worth it after all...

* * *

In the Tristainian Royal Palace palace, a plan was set in motion.

"That plan has a high risk to your life, your Majesty!" Agnes protested.

"Don't worry." Henrietta said. "I will have a capable bodyguard."

* * *

It was rather odd for Agnes to ask to meet them in what amounted to a sleazy bar, but Negi didn't particularly care. He was just glad he got to meet Scarron and Jessica again. Well, it wasn't something that she could possibly know, but it was still kind of nice to see everyone again.

Louise, meanwhile, was utterly mortified at the mere possibility of it happening again. Sure, the Enchanting Fairy Mansion was basically empty during the day, but to be seen wandering into such a place was already getting on her nerves. "I guess Her Majesty must have an important mission for us."

Negi shrugged. If she just wanted to meet them, then she could have called them to the palace. There had indeed to be something important and highly private if she called them personally. Well, it seemed she trusted Louise far more than she trusted practically anyone else, and while Negi would have to agree that such blind trust is kind of moronic, he couldn't say anything, as he had placed his trust in several people.

However, Negi was _almost_ put out by the fact that when he wandered in, he saw the fairies in Victorian dress (or maybe it is some other period. I don't know, historical fashion ain't my forte), but then found it hilarious. And actually surprising that Scarron could pull off a dress and a purple wig so well. It was kind of scary, actually.

Louise's jaw hit the ground before she could even begin to realize the amounts of weirdness that had just ensued in front of her.

"Ah! Excellent, my little fairies!" Scarron yelled, clapping. "Marvelous, even!"

"... Hello!" When in doubt, go for polite. When in doubt about the universe not having gone to hell in the last five seconds, hope for the best.

"It has been quite a long time, Scarron!" Negi said, taking the time to clap for the fairies' performance as they all slid to greet them.

"Isn't that so?" Scarron began, as all fairies followed him and did a perfect imitation from his overly dramatic pose.

"Yay! It's our favorite eyecandy!" The fairies cried in unison. It was almost startling. Louise still found it annoying how Negi could cause that reaction in practically every member of her gender. Negi waved and shot them a charming smile, and they almost melted in place, all of them wiggling in unison with Scarron himself.

Even Louise giggled a bit at the image.

"Now, everyone together!"

Louise wasn't sure what the hell had possessed her to go along with the madness that ensued. All that she knew, in the end of things, was that it was most decidedly _not_ Sparta, even if Jessica had cried that when she said that this was indeed, madness. Well, at least Negi seemed to be having fun, at any rate.

"Tres bien!" Scarron yelled, wiggling in place.

"What brings you here?" Jessica said, walking over to where Louise had fallen, having lost her balance some time ago. Negi seemed to take the five minutes of breather they'd gotten to try to get the giggles out of his system. There were a lot of giggles. "... Not that it isn't a pleasure to see you two again." She added, consciously.

"Well, we are supposed to meet someone here today." Negi said. "Though I think we came a bit early." He added.

"... Ignore that. Why are you wearing those costumes?" Louise asked, dusting her skirt off.

"Ah, this?" Jessica asked, patting her chest. "Well, tonight, we will be performing 'Vacances En Tristania'!"

Louise blinked. That... Even she had to admit, that would end up being hilarious. She couldn't possibly take the fairies and Scarron seriously. Much less so if the main girl was Scarron and the protagonist was Jessica. The mere idea from it just lent itself to hilarity.

"We will let the world know of our beauty!" Scarron yelled, clasping his hands together and puckering his lips. It was, again, kind of scary to Louise. Personally, I find that Scarron is a riot. Again, the fairies' coordination and timing was flawless. Natsumi would be jealous of Scarron.

"This is perfect!" Where the hell did he come from? He'd just been across the room not a second ago! Louise blinked and stared up as the giant of a man dressed in a rather hilariously fitting red and green dress. Hey, his goatee was a bit longer since the last time she'd seen him. "You two will be in scene, as well, since we lack actors!"

Negi blinked and, smiling, shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mister Scarron, but I have a terrible time holding in my laughs." He distantly remembered a certain trainwreck of a school play... That had gone down in history, for it had been _so bad_ that it turned out to be hilarious.

It had recently been adapted into a movie starring Tommy Wiseau, which was so huge a hit that it had propelled the man to stardom. He did have a talent for unintentional comedy...

Louise was too shocked by the mere idea to say no, however...

"Ah, that's a pity!" Scarron said, sounding genuinely upset. "Well, no matter, we'll work around it! Okay, my fairies, it is time to open up shop, be prepared!"

"Of course, Mi Mademoiselle!" The fairies cried. Again, their coordination was still incredible. Negi wondered if they could be synchronized swimmers...

"Hey, why are you two standing there?" Scarron asked, turning around in a very girlish way, befitting the dress he was wearing. "Shouldn't you be helping here?" He said, wagging his finger.

Negi smiled and shrugged. They had some time before Agnes got there, he liked seeing the fairies' antics and, well, anything involving Scarron would end in pure hilarity. So... "Sure, why not?"

The pinkette looked at him like he were a traitor, as she was dragged off to put on the same bustier that she had put on before. He could tell that Louise was swearing bloody revenge on him for this one. Well, he had to get to work.

_Insert a 'get ready' montage set to 'Be Prepared_'

Louise blinked, and looked herself down. "Ah, still as cute as ever!" the two that had forced the white bustier on Louise said, reminding Louise of a pair of lesbians as they jumped around declaring her cuteness. It wasn't enough that the damn thing barely covered her thighs, was it? She'd have to put up with the usual slimy clientele.

Well, at least most were ultimately good guys just looking for a bit of fun.

She was still going to murder Negi for agreeing to this the moment she had a chance. Nobody humiliates a Valliere and lives to te- wait... He did _just that_. Well, at least she'd explode him a bit, maybe it'd make her feel better, and it wasn't like it'd be barely more than an annoyance to him anyway.

Her smile was strained as all hell as she darted from table to table and back to the kitchen, serving customers as she did. She could only be thankful that her fat and balding suitor was nowhere to be found for the time being, which was a blessing. She was rich, she didn't need his tips, so right now, she'd much rather not have to put up with the fact that he was _quite_ fond of her cute little butt.

Back on the kitchens, Jessica rolled her neck. "Say, how does this look on me?" She asked, spinning around for good measure.

"You seem to be a natural." Negi said, nodding appreciatively.

"Of course. Who do you think taught everyone else how to be an enchanting fairy, 'big bro'?" She actually took the time to make the air quotes as she said so.

"Wouldn't have expected that from the manager. And hey, I think I could pull off a decent run as a big brother." Negi said, a smile on his face. "Are we low on personnel today?" He asked, only getting a nod in response.

"Probably. I know that I wouldn't want you as a brother though. Would make some things that much more complicated. Also, some girls like each other a bit too much and when they are done they can't move their legs." She said, sounding quite annoyed about exactly that fact. "Well, you should just be happy that we need a dishwasher." She said, a grin on her face.

"Please, not again."

With a smile that did not inspire confidence in Negi, Jessica went out with a few plates in her hands, making it a show for everyone. It was clear she was, indeed, the best at what she did. Maybe Louise could learn a thing or two from working for others' enjoyment, even if it was also for a pay.

Scarron's yell could be heard across the kitchen. "Louise! Someone is requesting you!" he said, pointing at what Louise came to recognize as Table 1.

"Me?" Louise's good day was over, wasn't it?

"Quick!" Scarron added, before moving on to defuse a situation involving the price of the wine when you want to drink it in one of the fairies' cleavage.

When Louise rushed to the table, she found a blond pseudo priest waiting for her. Surely, he should be at least _somewhat_ ashamed of being found in such a place. Then again, Louise was _working_ there, so it wasn't like she had much ground to talk from.

"Hey." Julio said, smirking at her, winking his red eye. Then he blinked. "You're really cute, Louise." He added, placing an arm around her shoulders as she sat down next to him. She was already a blushing mess. However, Julio noticed that his skills needed serious polishing. Either that, or Negi had hardened Louise to them, since she was still resisting. Then he got close and whispered to her ear. "Agnes called me here. Just play along for now."

Louise nodded and cursed the Musketeer Captain's choice for a place to gather in.

Apparently, where Louise was 'Filthy Rich' Julio was 'So Rich I Have A Toilet Made Of Gold', because he was throwing money around like there was no tomorrow. Well, he _was_ a priest, even if he'd long abandoned the more traditional aspects of his vows, and if he was from Romalia, he was probably high ranked, as well.

However, Louise knew getting drunk was not an option and so couldn't join Julio's cheer.

Since it was Julio, Negi actually wondered if the man made it a point to be an anathema to a priest. In either case, he had a box full of bottles to take out, and Scarron was busy, so he might as well get to doing just that. His hands were already wishing to get as far away from water as possible, anyway.

However, as he set about returning inside, a small, black figure in a cloak came rushing his way. A thief, an assassin... it had to be something. Hiding the face was suspicious enough. So Negi decided to stop whoever it was... by standing completely still.

Apparently, the running figure never even saw him and just crashed onto him, ending butt first on the floor. The gasp and moan of pain that followed made Negi's eyes shoot open. He knew the owner of that voice.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" The figure said, as Negi knelt down and offered her his hand. It was very clear who it was.

"No, I apologize, your majesty." Negi said, his voice low as he helped Henrietta back to her feet.

"Ah, Mr. Springfield?" She said, blinking and pulling her hood back. "This is just convenient." She said, standing up.

_"Over there!"_ Someone yelled, as the sound of no less than twenty armed men running around could be heard. Henrietta shushed Negi and pressed herself against the wall, behind his much larger frame. "They can't be too far!"

Negi blinked. "Let's go in." He said, automatically. To say that it was hard to sneak someone by Scarron was an understatement. However, with a wink and an implication, Negi got around that problem, even if it _did_ leave him feeling a bit dirty that he'd say that. Louise would've probably killed him if she'd found out he did such a thing.

Queen Henrietta let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. It wasn't every day that you have to run from the palace to the city while being chased by your own, wonderfully incompetent guards. She removed her dark cloak, revealing the fact that she was still wearing her royal dress. It couldn't _possibly_ be easy to move on that.

"What is going on?" Negi asked, falling onto serious mode.

"I am here to ask for your help in something." She said, a sweet smile on her face. Clearly, she was not a stranger to using cuteness to obtain her goals.

"You don't need to ask. I am, after all, under your orders for the time being." Negi said, folding his arms over his chest as he leaned against the door. If anyone tried to go in, he'd be the first to know and probably block the princess from sight as well.

Henrietta shook her head. "I'd feel bad ordering my friends around like that." She said, continuing to smile. "I need you to be my bodyguard for a time."

Negi nodded, closing his eyes. To protect someone... To protect someone he cared about was what he lived for.

"So that is why we were called here." Negi surmised.

"Indeed." Henrietta said. "This is a secret mission, so I cannot trust just anyone." He didn't blame her, because dammit if he didn't know that trusting the wrong people had led to terrible things happening in the past. "Will you do it, Mr. Springfield?"

"I see." Negi said, rubbing his chin. "Well, I am sure Louise won't mind if I disappear for a while." He said, a smile on his face. "... Just call me Negi. It might get awkward."

Henrietta beamed at him, then got up and dusted her white dress off. "Very well, then, Negi. Is there anything here that can make me look like a peasant?" She asked, looking down at the very royal silken dress.

"Well, all I have is Louise's uniform, and the shirt definitely won't fit you..." Negi mused, rubbing his chin. "I could lend you mine, but it'd be far too large and would look off." No shit, Sherlock, you're over a head taller than she is, not to mention wider at the shoulders, too.

"The uniform will do." She asked. "I couldn't take your own shirt in this temperature." She said,

"The coat should be enough. I am used to much colder temperatures. Don't worry about me." He said, waving her concerns off. "Next time, I will be prepared for such an eventuality." He added, nodding to himself.

Henrietta blinked. Colder? It was f*cking _freezing cold_ outside. Then again, this was the same familiar who routinely did the impossible, so she might as well just roll with it.

It was only a miracle that Louise's shirt's buttons hadn't popped under the pressure, and since the queen was (if only a bit) taller than Louise, if she moved too much her underwear would show. It would be a bit humiliating to wear, for most people, but Henrietta had already shot modesty to hell when she threw her dress off right in front of Negi.

The familiar wondered if all the women he knew had a problem with modesty. And they called _him_ a pervert...

Apparently, there was also a convenient headband they used to put Henrietta's hair up.

Louise was beginning to worry about the fact that her familiar was nowhere to be found, but Julio assured her that 'everything is going according to plan', revealing that if nothing else, the man was a _great_ actor, if the drunkard streak was truly an act. She wasn't particularly inclined to trust him at the moment, but the fact that he sobered up in half an instant was enough for her to at least do so for the time being.

Besides, he wouldn't have the balls to try anything while Scarron was around, so it was all good fun... For him and the girls he was paying. For her, it was only torture.

It was pouring outside. Well... it wasn't like there was anyone who could stop her familiar for more than two seconds, anyway. Surely what he was doing was important enough to warrant secrecy. If she were to trust Julio's words, maybe it was all a part of the reason Agnes had called them? It seemed like it could be so.

She didn't particularly like being overshadowed, but she had to admit that if it came down to it, Negi was clearly the more capable agent of the two. Mostly because he had the patience of a couple saints put together. She had just shoved a fork in between Julio's ribs for the fifth time, so she couldn't talk about patience.

The Fake Priest didn't even seem to notice. Stupid padded clothes, made forks into useless weapons. At least she could ward off her usual clientele by shoving sharp things into them. As it was, she was considering sending subtlety to hell and simply painting a wall with Julio's guts. She just poured some more wine into her glass and downed it.

Hey, if she was going to have to withstand Julio for the whole night, she at least had to get a little tipsy first. However, when she went for the second glass, Julio stopped her, shaking his head when she looked at him questioningly. Apparently, something important might yet happen, and it'd be better if she was free from alcohol in her system.

It was a bit insulting that he was saying it was okay for him to drink, but she couldn't argue with the fact that she was _very_ lightweight. Literally.

So, sighing, she continued trying to put up with the whole atmosphere.

* * *

Negi rubbed his chin. There was something missing. Henrietta's hair color was distinctive. Then again, if she tried to hide her face, she'd be just as suspicious as if she were wearing a giant sign saying 'Inspect Me!'. There wasn't much he could do about the hair. Glamour spells existed, but damned if he knew how to use them. The only one he _did_ know could not be used on other people anyway.

So he sighed. "Princess, please, look away for a second." He said, preparing himself for the annoyance that would surely come from this. He didn't wear his glasses constantly because he thought they looked cool. They were very heavily enchanted. They did not fully disrupt people's abilities to connect him to a mental image, but they did disrupt what they perceived nonetheless. It made living his life that much easier.

It is a little known fact that the entirety of the Springfield Family is cursed, or some say blessed, with extremely handsome men. There has been not a single man in the Springfield family that was _not_ pretty. Considering their family did not go way back, this wasn't that much of a surprise, really, but it was still somewhat annoying to know that even if they didn't care for their appearance, they'd still be attractive.

His own problem had been exacerbated. He wouldn't deny it. His father was a jerkass. So was his father's father, and his father's grandfather. However, Nekane had corrected that problem before it could manifest, drilling into him the basics of politeness and the conduct of a gentleman. And since he had been _quite_ an impressionable young boy, he had taken to it with all of his heart.

This had ended up becoming an intrinsic part of his being that made his puberty _hell_. It would probably have been unbearable had it not been small potatoes compared to _other_ trauma he'd had to endure. It helped that he had the inverse problem to most teenagers, being far too unintentionally charming for his own good. Nekane's training for him to be the perfect gentleman had worked horribly right.

So he pulled his glasses off, and put them on Henrietta's face. How she looked on them was pointless. Their effect would be achieved either way. The author, meanwhile, gleefully admits that he is a glasses man. "This should render you unrecognizable to anything but close scrutiny." Negi said.

Henrietta blushed a bit, but quickly shook her head and got completely serious again. "And it has the added benefit of focusing attention on yourself." She said, nodding appreciatively. "We should set out, then."

So it was that Negi, looking like a battle readied pretty boy with his _insanely_ hot and slutty girlfriend, and Henrietta, the equally attractive, if in a different way, queen hidden under the guise of a slutty woman clinging to a mercenary's arm, finished preparing. They nodded at each other.

"If anyone asks questions, I am a commoner mercenary looking for work due to the war and staying in the town for the time being and you are my disgraced noble partner. You have too much grace and poise to truly pass as a commoner. Louise already made that mistake."

"Affirmative." Henrietta said, pleased that he'd managed to throw on a convincing cover. Even if they did question them, a display of Negi's sword prowess should convince most people about his authenticity as a warrior.

And then they met the first checkpoint, or would have, had they rounded the corner.

There wasn't much to do about it. Both of them knew they were looking for Henrietta specifically, and while most looks were focused straight on Negi, the glasses wouldn't fully cover her identity if she was being explicitly looked at. She was hard to distinguish, but an experienced guard would have no problem, and Negi was doubting they'd dispatched the incompetent part of the guard to find her.

After a few minutes of observing, Negi concluded that the guard leading the inspections did not pay very much attention to couples who were blatantly displaying their affections for one another. At least Negi could respect the man had _some_ standards, even if it meant that he was not doing his job properly. This also gave them a convenient avenue to take.

"They won't check us thoroughly if..." Henrietta said, looking at Negi with a face that was halfway between resigned and serious. "I assume you already know."

Negi nodded. They both had to agree in that neither knew who Louise was going to be more jealous of, which was kind of funny. Imitating a couple was the way to go, then. Fortunately, this was rather easy to do, as Henrietta was not sure she knew the meaning of the word 'modesty'. At least when in duty-mode. Evangeline would be proud of him for locking his true self away for the time being and doing the mission as commanded.

Or maybe she'd be pissed. Yeah, that was more likely.

_Somewhere, Evangeline looked up and, for some reason, had the need to punch Negi, amongst many other needs. However, her maids were already hard at work at alleviating _some_ of them._

They wrapped their arms around each other, Negi making sure to heavily emphasize Henrietta's plentiful assets as they walked. It helped that despite everything, despite the fact that they'd probably never say it outright, both were enjoying themselves quite a bit. They were, in the end, two idiot children playing King and Queen that took a break to enjoy some of the time they'd never gotten to be anything else.

That they both understood each other's burden only helped their connection. There was admiration for each other. How they could put the needs of so many before their own. There was also a very short discussion about Agnes' own task and why the whole thing was taking place.

Apparently, they were trying to hunt down a corrupt noble. Good enough a cause, I guess.

However, there was one pressing issue once they were out of public sight. Henrietta was certain that, for a good five hours, _at the very least_, they'd be out of people's sight. The guards were likely to check in what was a very poor inn that struggled for the few customers it got, but once they were gone nobody else would check for a very long time.

"Are you cold?" Negi asked, seeing the fact that Henrietta was positively drenched, her shirt transparent from the water, clinging to every contour of her body and making sure to accent every curve.

It was at these few times that he was glad he was used to extremely attractive members of the fairer sex. Henrietta nodded, beginning to shake as she did so. He was right, after all. He should have at the very least given her his shirt. Sure, it would have been oversized, but she could have passed it as a scandalously short dress. Louise's skirt barely covered her underwear anyway, so it wouldn't be that much of a difference in either case.

"A bit." She admitted.

Negi shrugged his own drenched coat off-it was a problem that he'd probably have to correct. Maybe he could make it waterproof?-, throwing it against a chair. He pulled his equally drenched shirt off.

Henrietta, shakily, turned to look at him. "What...?" However, her words died when she remembered she was still wearing his glasses. Mustering all of her concentration, she forced herself to dismiss the extremely alluring and tempting image in her head and instead concentrate on her duty.

"Our clothes are wet. I can dry them off later. However, now, if you don't warm up you will catch a very bad sickness." Negi explained. His pants were kept mostly untouched by the rain, a virtue of the coat being long enough, so he assumed he could keep them on. His boots, however, had to go as well. It was clear that Henrietta was too cold to be moving of her own volition any time soon, however.

It was kind of weird on a water mage, but he assumed that she had simply never had true combat training, which would've allowed her to learn how to regulate the water in her own body to prevent such situations. Or so he assumed. Their control over the elements was greater than most mages actually realized, and it was practically the only thing that allowed them to work with their -honestly- nonsensical system.

She was blushing crimson as he set about the task of removing the shirt that had practically become another layer of skin. Understating their own burdens was also something they shared. Apparently, a 'bit' cold for Henrietta meant she was shivering and on a dangerously low temperature.

Such a convenient thing that his body produced excess body heat, then, because _someone_ had to warm up the shivering, nearly-naked queen.

However, as soon as Negi began to press Henrietta to his chest -and noting she didn't seem particularly resistant to that-, someone began to bang on the door rather harshly. Nothing unexpected, as they were sure to try to inspect any inns that would have a new arrival.

"Open! Open the door now, this is Her Majesty's Royal Guard!" A rather angry sounding man yelled as he struggled with the locked door.

Henrietta felt the urgency, and mustered her strength to look up at Negi with a small grin on her face. The meaning behind it was quite clear, and since Henrietta was still cold and shivering, perhaps a more intense exchange of body heat should ensue?

"Due to an urgency, we will be using force to unlock the door!" The same guard from before called. Incompetent though he may be, the man at least had manners in that regard. Most would just break the door down, rush in, grab some popcorn and stay for the show.

And by all hells would they put up a show for them. Henrietta was certain it took at least five minutes for the guards to leave after they entered, most with goofy, perverted grins on their faces and the biggest blushes she'd ever seen. What they had been watching, she didn't quite know herself. All she remembered is dozing off at least an hour after the guards left, though she couldn't remember what had happened during that period.

And of course, waking up three hours later in a _surprisingly_ comfortable mattress.

* * *

_Returning to the Lesbian and the one-who-hasn't-yet-decided._

For some reason, Agnes had the urge to apply violence to some unseen entity at that time.

It seemed to be only Agnes' luck that she'd happen to run on Louise while the latter was running an errand for Scarron. She knew the owner of the Enchanting Fairy Mansion to know that the man was NOT easy to resist a request to. Particularly one that had to do with leaving his presence. Sure, he was funny and all, but some times, it just became too much. Though that only applied if his attention was on her. If not, well, he was hilarious. The fact that Louise was wearing a bustier was all she needed to know to snicker inwardly.

"... Silence." Agnes muttered, turning to Louise and shushing her. The pinkette nodded, sticking to the wall as much as possible, wishing she had the ability to see through solid objects to see what kind of creep Agnes was following.

"He's waiting at the theater, as usual. That bitch the queen went an' got'erself captured again."

Agnes blinked. Louise hadn't risen to the bait! That would have jeopardized the entire mission.

"Did... Did he just call her..."

No.

"How dare he, that... that..."

No no no.

"Son of-" Agnes began praying to all deities that Louise's tone remained that low, because it seemed as if the man had heard something, but dismissed it as coming from the patrons in the first floor. However, her hopes were dashed when Louise actually continued.

This befitted a new inner monologue. It went like: Nononononono fuuuuuuu-

"a bi-" she began screaming, before her lips were busy doing something else, something _much_, _much different_. Agnes was pretty certain that they had been heard already, so she might as well try to disguise it however she could. She hated herself for feeding the fire of her reputation, but some sacrifices have to be made for the mission.

"This is the hottest thing I have ever seen." The man commented as he passed, giving them a thumbs up. Slimy son of a bitch.

So when the man passed and was gone, Agnes pulled back and allowed herself to finish her inner monologue. "-uck." she said, scowling at Louise, who seemed to be blushing crimson. Sure, her face was sorta cute when she was like that, and _maybe_ kissing her hadn't been _that_ bad. Quite enjoyable, as a matter of fact.

However, that didn't mean she was a lesbian, no sir!

* * *

**Omake**: Gone Horribly Right

Nothing would get in her way. The spell was complete and finished.

There was no reason to doubt anymore, there was no more hesitation in her as she poured everything she had, and even more, into the spell that would finally seal her destiny. If it worked, then her peers would be forced to acknowledge her as a mage. They would have no other choice. But if it didn't she'd prove them right. She'd prove she was, after all, nothing more than a commoner dressed like a noble.

She entrusted herself to the will of the Founder and was rewarded with a feeling of euphoria unlike anything she had ever felt before.

For a second, she felt free, unburdened. She felt powerful, almighty, even. Perhaps that was what it felt to cast your first successful spell? It certainly made her feel like a god, like nature bent at her every whim. Then that feeling, which came with the power coursing through her veins, was gone.

Only sadness and desolation, the utmost sorrow, were left in its wake. Cold hopelessness. The world betraying her time and time again in just an instant.

Pain. She felt pain in her chest. She felt as if the world had betrayed her, felt like life was not worth living any longer. Tears came to her eyes, even as she realized that she had no reason to feel that crushing sadness, yet it was so complete and absolute that it still made her breath stop, that it made her have to think and stop her eyes from flowing on.

However, that sadness, the feeling of hopelessness that it brought and the sorrow that completed the package, quickly gave way to something a bit more... heated. She hated that feeling. She hated that feeling of sadness and hopelessness. She had felt it one too many times, as her peers enjoyed reminding her. She'd become too acquainted with the pain it brought.

Why did she have to withstand that torture? What had she done that merited the world's hatred?

She began to hate. She began to hate the world that hated her in turn. Her hatred allowed for her rage to surge forth, lashing out against the cosmos that had punished her unfairly. She grit her teeth, the tears turned to tears of pure rage, her fists clenching, as she tried to stand her ground.

The dust settled, and the world fell to the cold and silence. Fear. They feared.

A loud howl rang, a howl that only Louise could truly understand. A howl that came from a raging beast's throat, carrying only desperation and sadness. A kindred soul, who cried out it's hatred, it's rage, and all of it's pain. With a grim, sad smile in her face, born from an understanding far deeper that she would have ever wished for, she took a step back.

_The foulest stench is in the air, the smell of hate and death._

The creature of darkness roared, taking a threatening step forward. It was a vaguely humanoid dragonlike creature, pitch black, a pair of winglike glyphs stretching from what would pass as it's wrists. It had white, pupil-less eyes, and it was taking all of the students' courage not to cut and run right then and there. The summoned beast was _terrifying_.

It took another step forward, and a wave of killing intent washed over the clearing.

Whoever might have broken down and ran remained glued to their spots. They couldn't. There was no doubt about it. Nothing but resignation on their faces and hearts. The beast would kill them. They were all going to die. The hope had been swallowed by the darkness.

Then, a large burst of flame slammed into the creature, which had some regaining some degree of hope... only to see that the beast continued advancing. Not even its hair had gotten singed. Fiery blast after fiery blast hit it, power increasing after each shot, but nothing could stop it. Jean Colbert began to sweat profusely, fearing exhaustion.

The creature wasn't trying to dodge or block. As far as he knew, it _hadn't even noticed his presence_, so caught up in it's own rage and hatred that it didn't see the rest of the world. To be quite frank, the aged teacher had seen many things in his long life. Some more threatening than others, some downright terrifying to this day.

Nothing could even come close to that thing's ankles. It didn't even recognize them as a threat.

Helplessness began to settle in as Colbert readied himself for what would be possibly the last spell he ever threw in his life, but when he took aim, his staff had been cut in half, and there was a positively livid creature standing next to him claws poised for a surely lethal strike which would probably sever his head from his shoulders.

The last thoughts he had were of how knife-like it's fingers were and how much of a mess he'd leave on the grass.

Louise's eyes widened, she took a step back, pure terror settling in. Yet, she couldn't help but feel that the creature's touch was almost gentle. She didn't feel afraid anymore. She had finally summoned a proud, mighty and powerful magical beast. Given how the beast had shreddered everything in sight before turning to her again, it had been _quite_ a powerful one, as well. She was happy, for a fleeting moment. The pain would end. Nobody would ever bother her again. Then the knife-like claws fell once more, and the world was painted red.

* * *

Negi's eyes snapped open.

He was sweating. He was sweating far more than he ever thought he would. A nightmare. A nightmare. Just a dream. The darkness was contained. The darkness was part of him. The darkness would not betray him like so. No. No. His nightmares were only getting worse. But... why? If anything, they should be getting weaker.

It made no sense. The darkness was getting concentrated on specific parts of his body, far away from where it could affect his mind unless he entered great stress. If Henrietta noticed that he was clutching her almost like a teddy bear, she did nothing about it. The only thing Negi could say was that she was awfully grabby when asleep, something that was doing wonders to distract him from his nightmare.

Except when she went for less than appropriate targets...

Two more hours to go, however, he was not going to get back to sleep any time soon.

* * *

And that's my guess at what would happen if Louise had summoned Negi at a bad moment...


	27. The Fiery Flame Of Rage

**Author's Note:  
**

I ain't feelin' well 'nuff, and that means I'm too tired, to actually write a decent chapter, so this will have to do. But you will be the judges as to whether I am correct in judging my skills or not.

Frankly, at this point, all I care about is whether or not you can actually create explosives based on Sodium, Potassium and Water. Still can't get them pure enough to test.

As always, thank you everybody for the reviews. Any questions can be placed in a review or pm'd to me.

Patcheresu

I am not most authors, therefore my omakes are not most omakes. Besides, as far as I know, these are for whatever use I deem them fit for.

Lunatic Pandora1

Yes. Yes they are. Had the timing been any worse, they would've ended with the Ultimate Fiend Of Lightning running around Halkeginia, killing everything it came across. An unkillable, undefeatable monster, basically dooming the entire world in one single spell.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 27: Genre Savvy Strikes

Everything worked as intended, and Henrietta had a few free minutes, so she might as well explain what the hell was going on to her improvised bodyguard, who had been a darn good sport in going along with something he _still_ wasn't sure about.

It warmed her heart to know that he trusted and cared for her enough to actually drop everything he was doing the minute she needed his help. Again, that was the kind of ruler she wished to be, capable of reacting to any problem and acting accordingly, concentrated on the protection and welfare of her subjects first and foremost. And of course, having the power to back up that kind of attitude wouldn't be bad.

She loved her people more than anything in the world, and if for them she had to sacrifice everything, she would do so in a heartbeat. Even if the only heartbeat she was hearing now was a strangely calming, rhythmic sound that was most decidedly _not_ hers. She pulled her head back from her pillow and rolled her neck to get rid of the stiffness.

There _really_ was no comparison to her usual bed, but it would have to do for the time being.

"Agnes is, right now, hunting down a corrupt official." She said, ignoring the need to yawn. "Our investigation, so far, has proven that said corrupt official meets with his co-conspirators in the theater whenever I am nowhere to be found. They believe the Musketeers follow me like loyal lapdogs and with them around, they would not expose themselves." Well, loyal, they were, at the very least.

It was a sound plan to provoke them into meeting to see if they could maximize the benefit from their ruler being kidnapped. Perhaps even ask each other who they should congratulate on a successful mission. Well, despite it being _somewhat_ smart, there was still one large flaw. Henrietta had to actually disappear for a long enough time so as to truly fool them into believing it before they met.

Scarron's midnight play was practically the perfect discreet meeting point, as there would not be very many people attending (it was very late in a weekday) and those who did would be too busy laughing their lungs off to pay any attention to court officials joining in for the fun. If they disguised themselves as commoners, they'd probably go unchecked entirely.

However, the fact that the Musketeers knew about this meant that the meeting place was not so secret. It seemed that Henrietta hadn't thrown everything into a gamble.

"You would be in danger if you escaped from the castle on your own. If anyone realized that, you would be a prime target for Albion assassins." Negi summarized. "From what I have gathered, although the staff at the palace could possibly recognize me, it is unlikely that even nobles from the palace wouldn't." Negi said, nodding to himself. "Not without my glasses on."

"Exactly." Henrietta said with a smile. "That is why I required someone who is not publicly associated with myself or my army."

"Ah ha. I still think it's a rather unnecessary danger, Princess."

Henrietta pouted at him. "Please, just call me by my name, or I will call you 'Mr. Familiar' again, Negi."

Negi chuckled. "Good enough, I can't possibly admonish Louise for doing that if I do it myself, can I?" he said, smiling widely. "Although if anything had happened to you when you ran from the palace, we would have been worried. And even now, if you got so much as a scratch on yourself..."

Henrietta shook her head. "I have full trust in your abilities." the regent said, turning around and showing him her back. She seemed to fall into thought for a few seconds. "I wanted to know how it feels."

Negi blinked. "How what feels?" He asked, curious about what she said. He sat up, looking at the princess who still seemed to be thinking to herself. She merely shook her head and stood up.

"Regardless, we should move. I need to be on site early." Henrietta said.

Negi nodded. "Please, wait a minute. I will hurry over to the Enchanting Fairy Mansion and recover your dress. Should not take more than a couple of minutes at most."

Henrietta nodded. Seriously, if her standard guards were at least half as competent as Negi, _maybe_ she wouldn't have to know how to fight.

_Somewhere Else..._

"... So it was a mission." Louise said, looking up at Agnes, who had climbed onto her horse.

"Let us never speak of this again." Agnes quickly said, sighing. "For the moment, return with Scarron and get ready." She spoke, clearly conveying a message Louise had no trouble catching. Chances were it would turn into a huge mess, most assuredly.

Barely a few seconds after Agnes departed, Louise turned around, heading back to the mansion to get herself into something more comfortable for a fight, and came face to face with Scarron pulling a cart. A cart filled with boxes and being ridden by the fairies and Jessica. Okay, Louise had to give it to Scarron, his muscles were, evidently, quite functional.

"Louise? We have to go!" Scarron said, as Louise opted _not_ to question the strange man.

As she rode, Agnes closed her eyes and whispered to herself. The biggest culprit would die tonight. Then, there would only be one more target to hunt down to feed the flame of her wrath.

* * *

The stage was set. Quite literally, as a matter of fact.

The pawns had all made their move, the white bishop was open and the black queen moved in for the capture. The Black Knight was in place.

Everything was as it should be. Now it was only matter of waiting while the trap was sprung.

A white haired man, possibly in his fifties, walked into the theater, supported by a cane as he did so. His wrinkled face was practically forced into a combination between a scowl and a grin that inspired nobody any kindness. The commoners made sure to remain well out of his way, knowing very well that most nobles did not take kindly to that.

The man was accompanied by a contingent of servants who attended to his every need. Most likely someone of very high standing if he could pay for such attention. Perhaps even a court official? Likely. It was a known fact that Scarron's hilarious plays often reached to all social classes, paying no heed to the social ladder.

The white haired man took his seat next to a similarly aged fellow. One wore purple while the other wore dull orange. They would have stood out like a sore thumb, were it not for the darkness that permeated everything but the stage itself.

The servants took seats around them. It did not take long for both of them to begin ogling the woman already standing on stage, who was busy introducing Scarron's Drama Troupe, and explaining that they were going to play Vacances En Tristania, a comedy written by some old fart who never did anything important.

The story was unimportant, and they were barely paying attention to it anyway, instead busy making chitchat.

If not friends, then they were at least a bit more than passing acquaintances, it became clear, as even their servants seemed to be amicably chatting among themselves.

Behind the scenes, Louise sighed as she fixed her dress on herself. To be used as an extra was an insult. To be used as an extra in a comedy who would probably be used as a prop for hilarity to ensue was worse. To know that her familiar had gone off with the princess and could, even now, be attempting to corrupt her pure, incorruptible pureness (or at least she deluded herself that way), was perhaps the worst.

No. Louise was certain that the worst part was that her familiar had gotten away from having to act in this.

Scarron placed a hand on Louise's shoulder. "I wanted someone to play the part of the dog, but he was way too tall." The man who's already changed into a tight fitting green-trimmed red dress said, looking very upset about that same fact. It never stopped amusing Louise that Scarron had shown quite a bit of interest in Negi, because it made the servant uncomfortable.

Even if she felt jealous most of the time, seeing him scramble to form words whenever someone showed sexual interest in him was still hilarious, mostly because of the paradox that it was, considering his tendencies and the fact that he inspired it on practically everyone.

"We need to get moving." Jessica said, crossing the curtains to get backstage. "Come on, girls!" she said, clapping to move the fairies faster. They seemed to respond quite well to the move stolen from Scarron himself, as they hurriedly began moving to set up the stage.

It was a wonder how Jessica could look so well on an aerial officer's uniform. Quite a hilarious contrast to Scarron, who just made the whole thing funnier by being the main heroine. Apparently, they hadn't chosen that on a whim, as both Scarron and Jessica were very talented comedians. Again, they kept surprising Louise time and time again.

Her familiar was still nowhere to be found, but she was certain that she'd just have to wait until the trap was sprung. A cursory glance revealed the telltale signs of musketeers hidden all over the building, waiting to catch the conspirators as they revealed themselves.

On one hand, she was almost scared of screwing this up and giving away the entire plan. On the other hand, she was giddy that she was finally experiencing a military operation in which she was participating. A chat with Jessica had revealed a convenient fold of cloths she could use to hide her wand in.

And it was so that the play was put in motion. Jessica was, no doubts, the best actress of the lot, really getting into her act as a high ranking officer, up to and including acting as a perverted young man, even though Louise wasn't sure that any attention given to Scarron could count as perverted.

Moving that brick wall had been a pain, even if it was made of a lightweight material that could be painted to resemble bricks, but it was the main part of act one, so it wasn't like they had much of a choice about it. As expected, Scarron's hand got caught in the lion's maw.

Though nobody had quite expected that Scarron could lift the entire wall by himself while trying to shake it off. Even the fairies were giggling, and Louise was kind of slack jawed at the displays of ever growing idiocy on the part of the main heroine, mostly towards the young man that she wished would fall to her charms.

On her part, Jessica was making sure to go around flirting with every one of the fairies, up to and including Louise. Again, after being close to Negi for so long, she quickly dismissed her as inexperienced by comparison and instead fell into her role. She may have been nervous as all hells, but at least she'd put a performance.

Distract the audience from the sound of the musketeers moving by being particularly loud.

The play continued without much fuss, and Louise's performance had given the whole thing a touch of hysteria, as Jessica became more furtive in her attempts to charm Scarron. The roles had now fully inverted, and it was nearing the end of act one.

The moment Louise had a breather while the fairies began providing colorful commentary, Louise's eyes strayed to a court official and a man in a dull orange cloak. They would've been hard to miss amongst the rest of the crowd, as they were far and beyond the most well dressed of the lot. So those were the targets, huh?

"So... the regent is gone..." the one in orange (or was it brown? The lack of light made it hard to tell) spoke, in a hushed tone. "

"She hasn't been found yet." The white haired one in the purple, regal robes replied, turning to ogle the girls as they all crowded around the protagonist.

"It is our chance to invade." Louise wished she had the ability to read lips to know what they were saying. It sounded very important, judging by the way that they'd gotten closer to speak in an even lower tone than before. She would've growled, but she grew busy by having to join the gossiping fairies.

"Indeed. For as long as Her Majesty's whereabouts are unknown..."

"I am right here, Lord Lishimon." Henrietta rapidly cut in, pulling her hood back, still seated next to a seemingly asleep young man. She slowly stood up, to match the two that had jumped into awareness.

"Y-Your Majesty!" Lishimon, the man in purple, almost shouted, causing the other conspirator to look at him in shock and fear. "This is-"

"I heard everything you just said." Henrietta stated with a smile. "I have known you were a traitor for a long time, and I just needed to catch you with your accomplice." The princess said, discarding the black cloak was discarded rather easily, landing on a random commoner's head. The man would probably cherish that one for quite a long time.

"A clever bitch revealing her fangs." Lishimon replied, smiling a disgusting smile. "So the whole kidnapping thing was a sham..." he said, almost growling the words out.

"Exactly." She said, as the four musketeers concealed behind her threw off their own cloaks and stood up, holding their weapons ready. "Court Director Lishimon, you are under arrest for High Treason, Corruption and Obstruction Of The Law." Henrietta stated. "The show is over, Lord Lishimon."

Finally, every head in the theater turned their way, to see how this would turn out.

"Oh, really? It seems to me that the show must go on..." Lishimon replied, snapping his fingers. Every servant seated in front of him quickly stood up, throwing their own dark cloaks away to reveal the uniform of a guardsman, all holding weapons at the ready. "You are too foolish, Henrietta!" the wrinkled old bastard yelled. "You have but four with you, while I have a dozen. Do you think you stand a chance?"

The regent giggled slightly. "They are here merely to take you into custody, not to fight, Lord Lishimon." She said, a pleasant smile on her face that sent shivers down the Court Director's spine.

"Then..." He said. His eyes widened, as he saw the spiky red bangs poking out of the cloak the young man sitting next to Henrietta was wearing.

The man next to Henrietta finally stood up and threw the cloak off, and both Lishimon and his co-conspirator took a step back in abject terror. Negi raised his hands and let the fist meet the palm. Then he cracked his knuckles, the sound reverberating across the room, a small, almost sadistic grin on his face.

"DAMMIT! Ignore the musketeers, attack Springfield! GET HIM!" Lishimon quickly screamed, jumping over the first row of seats and leaping over the following two to get on stage. He turned back barely long enough to see a man go flying away from a single punch. He had a clear route to go for, so he rushed.

The man in brown that might be orange instead rushed for another emergency escape route, trying to hid amongst the escaping crowds of people as he did so, but all he found was a blond man with a sword who tripped and knocked him out, before handing him to a group of musketeers to chase after Lishimon.

Louise was at a loss. There was a man rushing toward the princess with his sword held up, or the other target, Lishimon... Well, no, she wasn't. Fuck Lishimon, she had one _much_ larger priority than capturing the conspirator.

"Your Majesty!" Someone screamed, and Henrietta saw a soldier raising his sword for an overhead slash that would end everything... only for an explosion to make the sword disappear before it could be swung down, also doing a number on its owner's hands. The man screamed in pain as his fingers were broken under the explosion's force.

"Louise!" Henrietta yelled, looking like she'd just gotten her life saved by her best friend which, admittedly, is exactly what just happened.

Said pinkette let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as the attack hit the precise point she'd been aiming at. She'd have to work on her aim some more, if she was still incapable of quickly firing because of fear she'd hit someone else.

Then they both were distracted as, with a few movements, Negi quickly disposed of the soldiers surrounding him, all of them hastily knocked out instead of killed. Prisoners for questioning were always more valuable than corpses.

With a wide smirk, Lishimon smacked his staff against the floor, which opened up below him as he ran.

Then, both Negi and Henrietta smiled. "It's up to you, Agnes." Negi said, folding his arms over his chest, ignoring the groans of pain of the guards.

Henrietta nodded as musketeers began pouring in to arrest all those involved in this not on the Princess' side.

* * *

Lishimon descended through the trapdoor, using a levitation spell to feather his fall and prevent himself from becoming a bloody pancake upon landing. With that same grin he had displayed when jumping into the hole to begin with, he began to head away.

"Lord Lishimon." A voice cut through the darkness, leaving him almost completely still for a few seconds. He knew who that was. The Musketeer Captain, Agnes de Milan. "Where do you think you are going?" It was kind of sad that such a pretty face could display such anger and hatred so easily. Still, the old man merely turned around, still smirking.

"Hn. As if a commoner such as yourself could stop me." The annoying tone of his voice made Agnes' eyebrow twitch. There were proper times for everything. As it was, she had to bear with his presence for a few seconds more.

"I do not intend to capture you." She said, as he fully ignored the fact that her right hand was currently silently and discreetly undoing the straps that kept her pistol attached to her hip.

"Smart." Lishimon spoke, grinning at her. "What do you want, then?" He knew they didn't have very long, even if he'd sealed the trapdoor as he fell, so might as well make it quick.

"You planned the burning of D'Angleterre." the blonde spoke, as her left hand unconsciously went for her sword. However, she stopped herself before it came to rest upon the hilt. If she displayed open aggression, he would get tipped off and run. Right now, she had to talk, and if he ran and she killed him, then it'd end right there. "My home town was burned to ash."

"Yeah. So you are the only survivor from that village. What now?" Lishimon asked, his eyes narrowing. "If you want revenge, you just sealed your own death sentence."

"I want to know who was assigned to the squad of Fire Mages that burned my hometown." Her voice was cold, icy even, as she talked. "So that I may have my revenge."

He seemed to be buying into the lie that she wouldn't hold him responsible. What a gullible idiot. That was one further reason to hate the majority of the mages. However, then his smirk turned mocking and perverse again. "Hah. I will end your life with just one spell..." He said, hoisting his short staff as he talked.

Not yet.

"But before you die, I will let you know that you have been so close to the information, only to never see it. The registers regarding that information are currently stored in the library below the Academy Of Magic!" He began to gloat, like a moron.

Agnes' expression ceased concealing her rage, and Lishimon almost lost control of his bladder at the sheer killing intent that she radiated. She hadn't changed her expression too much, yet... It felt as if two different people had been talking to him. One was an angry Musketeer and the other was an avenger demon. "Thank you." She said, quickly raising her right arm.

Lishimon's eyes widened, and then a small ball of metal went through one of his hands. Specifically, the right hand that was no longer holding his staff. Lishimon let out a scream of pain as his free left hand went to clutch the destroyed appendage. It was all the distraction that the musketeer needed.

Moving swiftly like the wind, with all the strength of a raging fire, Agnes dashed forward and stabbed Lishimon through the gut, hearing his pained, bloody gasp was what brought her the satisfaction necessary for a maddened grin to manifest in her face.

Every time, it felt so good to feel the blade sink into the flesh.

"I-Impossible!" Lishimon claimed, completely incapable of movement.

"This is the anger that I have been saving to, one day, have my revenge on noble bastards just like yourself!" Agnes said, twisting the blade and feeling her euphoria increase as Lishimon continued to make his pain apparent. "May you burn in hell." she said, pushing him off her blade and almost throwing him into the air. Agnes ripped off a part of the man's robe and set about cleaning her blade as she walked out of the concealed escape route.

Now she had a lead for the biggest target of them all.

The man who, in one swift movement, ruined her life. She would make him pay. With that thought warming her heart against the cold night, and the ever present heat from her hatred, she wandered into the coldest night.

––

Louise sighed. "... You do know that you reek of the Princess' perfume, don't you?" She asked, looking at Negi.

"... Didn't know it was that strong." Negi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"What did you do with her? Was there a necessity to get intimate when you were supposed to be her bodyguard?" Well, at least she knew that he hadn't abandoned her. Well, good things do happen some times. "Not that I doubted, for a second, that you would. I know who you are, after all." it kind of stung to be thought of as a pervert, really.

"... You would be surprised what we had to do to leave suspicion." Negi said, adjusting his glasses on his nose as he talked. Then he launched into an abridged description of what had happened not too long ago. From the moment he met up with Henrietta to the... more intimate bits that happened in the inn. Louise was kind of angry, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Ah, Master, was your day interesting?" He asked. Considering his had been quite hectic, it was only his desire for something _not_ involving arousing imagery to be the story Louise would tell. As it was, she colorfully described her renewed hatred of Julio's less... wholesome habits. Then she moved on to the preparations for the play and Scarron sending her off for _something_ that she forgot.

"... You did what?"

It had been a slip of the tongue. She'd gotten so used to chatting with him without minding herself that she had subconsciously said something she had tried to bury in her mind. It was so humiliating to even bring it up with him that she was already angry at herself. "... She kissed me, I had nothing to do with it!" Why was she embarrassed about telling _him_ in particular? It wasn't as if she was betraying him or anything. Lord knows he's okay with open relationships...

"Then, I assume that it was all for the sake of the mission." Negi concluded, nodding to himself. "I am proud of you, Louise, to be able to put your personal objections away for a moment in order to maintain secrecy." That... was not the reaction she had expected.

After all, from limited interaction with her male peers and the reactions anyone got whenever Kirche got... affectionate, she assumed that all men had their minds clouded by the mere image of two women in a compromising situation. As if Girl On Girl were inherently arousing to the male mind. Well, the majority, anyway.

"In any case, we should probably go. It is quite late, and tomorrow we have to wake up early." Negi said, rubbing his chin. "I have already informed Scarron of our departure."

"Some times I wonder how you have the time and energy to do everything you do." Louise asked.

"So do I." Negi admitted, a smile on his face. "But still, we should probably go now." Negi said.

"But we didn't bring our horses. We might as well just pay for an inn here and head to the academy in the morning. Besides, the roads at night are dangerous." Louise concluded.

"We will head back along with Agnes and a Musketeer unit, Louise. Brigands wouldn't dare attack us. And even if they did, it would only do us a favor, as we could arrest them." Negi reasoned. "In any case."

"I guess so." Louise said, finding out arguing about it was pointless anyway. Sure, she'd have an hour less of sleep, but at this point, she didn't even care anymore.

Negi nodded. "I will go talk to Agnes about it, then."

Finding the Musketeers' captain wasn't hard. Just look for the woman everyone seemed to be avoiding like the plague. Since the musketeers had never quite seen her smile, not like that at least, he couldn't blame them. Some people just had naturally scary smiles.

Comparing her to Evangeline or Haruna, however, was like night and day, so it wasn't affecting Negi in the slightest. She was, of course, barking orders to her subordinates, making them keep the peace and cart off the captured soldiers as well as the dog from Albion that had tried to conspire with Lishimon to bring Tristain down from the inside.

Negi was starting to remember why he disliked politicians so much.

"Hey." Negi said, calling attention to himself, as Agnes snapped her head toward him. "I trust everything went according to plan. Lishimon is..."

"Dead." She said, an ecstatic smile in her face. "Now, I only have one more target for my wrath." she said, looking at the distant horizon. However, the general direction she faced was one that Negi knew too well. The academy. What could she mean? "The captain of the unit that burned D'Angleterre down will die soon."

He forced down the need to preach to her that Lishimon's death would not bring her village back. He would never be able to convince her, no matter how hard he tried, and as much as he hated how she had done about obtaining it, he agreed that she deserved to get at the very least a bit of satisfaction in her revenge.

"I will not ask you to forgive him. I will, however, ask you if you ever stopped to think that maybe the man was merely following orders." He said, as Agnes continued to stare off into the distance. He sighed, as he realized that she was now looking at him with irritation quite clear.

"That man burned my hometown down. Killed hundreds of innocent people. Even if he was merely following orders, he should be punished!" Agnes argued, narrowing her eyes. "Don't talk nonsense, Springfield." She added threateningly, her hand subconsciously going for her sword as always.

It seemed stabbing was her solution to most things. That was kind of a problem.

Negi shook his head. "I can understand your pain, your rage and your hatred..."

"No. You can't." Agnes icily replied. "How could you? You, who have everything in the palm of your hand..." She trailed off, her voice dripping with venom as she did.

"When I was four years old, my hometown was raided." He wisely left out the part about it being a band of demons doing the raiding. It was irrelevant, in the grand scheme of things. "My adopted uncle was petrified, permanently, in front of my eyes when he took a blast meant for me. My sister was hit in front of my eyes, and she too, began to petrify. When she tried to help _me_ despite that, her legs broke off from her body and she was unable to do anything from the sheer pain."

Agnes blinked. She hadn't expected that. However, she was definitely intrigued by the revelation.

Springfield almost never openly showed his pain, and he was quite clearly in a lot of pain merely from remembering the event. That feeling of powerlessness she knew all too well seemed to take a hold of him. Even his smile turned sad.

"My father arrived in the nick of time and disposed of the raiders on his lonesome. That was the first time I met him." he said, a grim smile on his face. Great nostalgia was clear in him, as well as tremendous amounts of guilt. Although Agnes couldn't possibly know why. "Six years later, after I had completed my education, in my graduation test I discovered something." He said. "I had always known it, to a degree, although the moment it was made evident I almost broke down."

He seemed grim for a full second, and Agnes couldn't help herself. "What did you discover?" She asked. It was a wonder how he could somehow make it impossible to ignore him when he wanted to be heard.

"When I was a child, I'd often try to get into trouble. My father was a great hero, so I always thought he'd come save me if I got into big enough trouble. Then, I began to hate myself, because I began to believe that the demons" Agnes blinked, but just assumed that was how he referred to the raiders "that raided my village were a divine punishment for me, because I kept worrying everyone by getting into trouble."

That did not answer the blonde's question, but Negi seemed to be far from done. Agnes narrowed her eyes again. This had only one outcome.

"Turns out, I wasn't far off the mark. At the time, I did not know of my heritage, and if I were to be honest, I didn't know much of how the world works. I would like to think that I am a bit wiser now." So maybe it wasn't what Agnes expected. Maybe that was just a stigma that he always carried to himself. "Turns out, I wasn't far off the mark. It was not divine punishment but it was, in fact, meant for me."

Agnes blinked. To a degree, it made sense. A corrupt government would want to ensure anyone with a claim to the throne they can't wield as a puppet is properly dealt with. It made sense that they'd send assassins to pick the thorn before it became an annoyance. She couldn't fathom, however, that something like that could happen to such an individual as the one that was standing in front of herself.

Negi Springfield was not a happy man. He might be all cheer and smiles, but she could very easily tell he was just using them as a front. Even so, he was a reasonably pleasant individual who did enjoy his life, if not as much as he appeared to. How could a man who had lived through the exact same things that she had be so... calm and content?

"The only objective the raiders had was to find and kill me. Tell me, Agnes, how do you think it feels to know that your mere existence puts everyone you love in danger? How do you think it feels to know that innocents suffer merely because you exist?" Negi asked, a smile in his face. "Believe me, I know your pain intimately."

The Musketeer Captain was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say.

"For a very long time, I had only one thought at the back of my mind. I could never accept it myself, back then. However, as I came to be aware of my own darkness, it became apparent... And when the chance showed, I dropped everything to claim my revenge. My friends, my allies, my mission, everything. At that point, I didn't care if the world burned so long as I could rip the culprit to shreds."

Still, he appeared too calm. She knew firsthand what he was capable of, but she had just assumed it was because he was so dead set on protecting his friends that he'd traded everything for the power necessary to do so. She would have never expected him to be powered by his own undeniable desire for revenge.

However, there was something more there.

"I know first hand about the power of hatred. To this day, what keeps me going forward is my hatred and my rage. The hatred that I feel for those who would dare bring harm upon my friends, the rage I feel whenever anyone touches a hair on their heads..."

What was his point.

"It is a part of me. Just as your own is a part of yourself. I will not ask you to let go of your hatred and rage, however, I will ask you to think your actions through. I would hate to lose a friend to a rash and poorly made decision." Negi said, an apologetic smile on his face. "Perhaps it would do best for both of us to retire for the night. I came here to tell you we will be heading back now, and you should probably come with us."

As he turned to leave, however, he felt someone's eyes bear into his back, trying to drill holes through it. "Springfield." Agnes' voice cut through the cold, silent night. "Don't get in the way of my revenge." She said, although her tone was less secure than usual.

Negi chuckled. "Agnes, if it meant preventing you from making a decision that you would regret later in life, then I will gladly get in the way and bear with the consequences." He said, a strong wind blowing by and flapping his coat's tails as he walked.

"Forgiveness is the most painful of all sacrifices, isn't it?"

* * *

**And now, for something completely different:** That Beautiful Moment In Which You Realize You're Totally Screwed

"So... To recap, we just met Caster." Rin stated.

Shirou, Saber and Archer nodded.

"And said Caster was a little pink haired girl on a strange school uniform." She continued.

Again, the two servants and Shirou nodded.

"And then we pissed her off _somehow_."

"I know _how_..." Archer muttered under his breath. Somehow, Shirou managed to guess _exactly_ what his thoughts were referring to when they both centered on the exact same word. _Tsundere_.

Still, Saber nodded helpfully, leaning heavily against Shirou, who had trouble supporting her weight. The only one who was not overly hurt was Rin, and that was by virtue of being smart enough to remain outside the direct line of fire. Certainly, she was surrounded by idiots.

"And turns out she summoned Assassin. Let's not even begin to talk about how _that_ even begins to work, right now, there is something far more important to discuss." Again, this was met with a few nods of assent. "Now, can you tell me how _Archer_ and _Saber_, two of the Knight classes, got their asses whooped by _Assassin_?" Rin asked, almost utterly stupified that such a thing was even possible. "He shouldn't have even been capable of engaging you two on a direct melee fight, much less keep up _and_ defeat you both!"

Saber looked somewhat offended. "While his prowess with a sword is well below mine, I cannot deny that I could not quite match his speed."

Shirou wanted to chuckle. The man they had fought had practically teleported everywhere, and then he used that strange 'Armationem' technique Shirou had never heard about (and he filed that thought for later) to _become_ lightning, well... The fight was pretty much over as Saber could no longer reliably defend herself, and Archer became incapable of tracking his movements at all, even if he had a chance at defending himself. Shirou still didn't know how.

That ludicrous magic power. Both of them had displayed the ability to go well beyond what most magi ever _imagined_ as possible. The Little Caster was creating explosions that seemed to outright _consume_ everything they touched, leaving perfectly spherical holes. And when she did throw a named spell, it was a spell that Shirou was convinced he wasn't killed by _only_ because Saber took the brunt of it.

After Caster's surprise at Saber tanking an attack meant to tear _through_ mountains, Shirou got another nasty shock when Caster stopped their little bout to let Assassin have some fun. The sword almost broke his mind. That thing was unimaginably old and to Shirou's eyes, it was completely impossible to recreate.

The fact that the weapon had true awareness had also been another nasty shock. There seemed to be a lot of those. And of course, then the _fight_ began. Two on one, they had been pretty even. It was clear that both Saber and Archer were better swordsmen than Assassin was, which he made up for by simply buffing himself. And _what a way_ to buff himself it was, because he was keeping up with both servants at once.

Then the lightning cometh...

It reminded him that he was a pathetic mage, after seeing Caster and Assassin openly disregard the rules of Thaumaturgy without so much as a pause. Rin had seemed pissed about an Assassin who was quite clearly a mage, saying that what point was there to classes if you didn't follow the archetype anyway.

Probably still angry at her Archer who didn't use his bow. Even though he'd proven he could wreck shit with it.

The Archer dressed in red seemed to fall into thought for a full minute, sometimes staring off into the distance and some times simply staring at Rin as if to gauge what her reaction would be, although he seemed to fall into a resolution fairly quickly afterward. Archer sighed. Unless he came clear with the information, those two would be a gigantic pain in the ass. Giving Assassin the advantage of surprise was never smart.

Much less so with this particular assassin. He'd rather take on the Hundred Faced Hassan.

"Rin, now is not the moment to worry about something like this." Archer began, looking completely deadpan. "Let's just put things this way. There's an immortal lightning god and his crazy loli master coming after us."

"Nah." Then everyone blinked, only to look at the new additions to the conversation. A pink haired girl riding on the back of a red haired man, both of whom smiled at them. "There's an immortal lightning god _right here_." Caster said, a smile on her face. "Now, what was that about a crazy loli?"

Saber readied her sword, at which point Assassin drew his strange talking sword again.

"Ah, it's sword-lady again!" The sword happily cried. "That is quite a work of art you've got there."

At that point, Shirou and Archer, once again, shared a thought. _"Oh, shit."_

Rin, meanwhile, had another thought going over her head. _"If I die here, I'm blaming Archer."_

* * *

Don't worry Rin, I blame Archer for many of my deaths too. Particularly when I can't get the Unlimited Blade Works off in Crucis Fatal Fake or when, by a stroke of luck, I am incapable of correctly guessing ONE round of Fate Extra and Shiki, AKA Servant Monster, whoops my ass.


	28. Victory Fanfare

**Author's Note:  
**

raj (Anonymous Review): Actually, I'm fairly sure that Negi's powers make him a better Magus Killer than even _THE_ Magus Killer, Emiya Kiritsugu, by virtue of allowing him to be _far_ faster than what they can perceive. Keep in mind that the fastest speed a human eye can perceive, as a blur of motion, is about 0,5 kilometers per hour, IIRC. Negi's Lightning Speed is three hundred times as fast as that. Archer would have to spam Area Of Effect attacks to catch him, and even if he did, he'd just blow him to bits, at which point Negi would regenerate. If the attack isn't strong enough, it will get stopped by his barriers so it would be pointless anyway.

SeanHicks4: Fate/Stay Night is a Visual Novel first and foremost...

Great Vampire-Shinso: Ya veremos. Y si, Negi siendo quien es hace que correr sea absolutamente inutil. Traducido seria su 'Ama Loli', no Maestra, :P

Patcheresu: It's Emiya Shirou, or EMIYA, the only way they will die is intoxicated with victory atop a hill of swords. Servant Negi IS actually defeatable, since if you cut his connection to his master, he won't last very long. They should just be thankful that Illya had already summoned Herakles, because if he is summoned as Berserker the war won't last very long. If his master has a way to enforce control, as Assassin he's basically broken, since Lightning Speed would allow him to assassinate masters left and right without much hassle.

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 28: Fuel

Negi narrowed his eyes as the people's cheer deafened everyone.

The majority of those passing by where women and children, and even the children were, in their majority, female. It seemed that a great amount of men and adolescents had joined the army. Still, the redhead was angry. He could not help it.

The fact that they were cheering on what amounted to great amounts of people dying, on either side, reminded him that masses were very easy to manipulate, and even so, he still couldn't help but be disgusted at death. He had to force himself not to speak out against war publicly. He did not like it, the least bit, but he had absolutely no say in the matter. There was not much he could do, unless he wished to topple the government himself.

Even then, he would soon be attacked and be forced to defend himself.

The cycle would just continue on, forever, as long as there were human beings.

"We won the first battle!" Louise said, cheer evident in her voice as she turned around to meet Negi, who had his eyes closed and looked, for lack of a better term, positively pissed off. She frowned in confusion. "The alliance with Germania paid off, as five hundred platoons confronted the enemy forces. We sustained very few loses. Why are you angry?" She asked, clearly noticing the fact that he wasn't particularly ecstatic.

"Louise. _People are dying_." He said, sighing. "_And you are all celebrating that_." He stated, sighing _again_. "I know that this is war, but accepting it does not mean I like it." he added, turning around and beginning to walk away as he did. He removed himself from the crowds, and Louise quickly ran after him. Having way shorter legs, it was the only way to catch up to his longer strides.

"But... We won..." Louise said, looking up at Negi, who still seemed distraught.

"At what price?" He asked, looking up. "Life is precious, Louise, and I refuse to let it merely become a number." However, there was something else bothering him. Despite her efforts to defend Tristain, Henrietta hadn't been in favor of an offensive against Albion, which was something Negi was mildly thankful for. It was not the same to defend your country than it was to attack.

Negi was not his father, he could not set his emotions aside and just perform his duty, if it came down to that, he wasn't sure if he could bear with being the aggressor. He was already a monster, there was no need to further aggravate his image.

Although he was certain that Henrietta would deploy him soon enough. There was a very clear reason to. He was their trump card, and in the coming confrontation with the bulk of Albion's army, holding anything back would be a gamble that she couldn't afford to take. Everything had to be mobilized.

Even if Negi didn't end in the front lines, he would most likely have to deal with being, for the first time in his life, the villain.

For the moment, he was just wondering why war had been declared. "Louise, wasn't Henrietta against war?" Even if the pinkette couldn't possibly have more information than he did, she was still more knowledgeable about the regent's mind than Negi could be. Long running friendships tend to make you understand each other very well.

"Yes, she was." Louise stated, seemingly falling into thought herself. "However, our enemy is Albion, and they are a threat to all Halkeginia, so... we have to fight with all we have." the pink haired master spoke to herself. However, she didn't seem entirely convinced of her words. "The Princess was most likely pressured into declaring war."

Negi nodded to himself. It was his main theory, as well. Popular demand for the war was already clear, ever since the frustrated attack of Tarbes, and although people were hailing the unknown 'Dragon Slayer' from that battle, there was doubt in Tristain's allies, which Negi assumed to be the main reason Henrietta hesitated.

Germania and Tristain shared a rocky alliance at best. Since the marriage had not taken place, the royal families were still separate. Therefore, Germania was most likely involved in the war for their own purposes rather than to honor the alliance, and with the recent rumors that Negi had heard, the alliance was not looking particularly solid.

The fact that Albion was spreading rumors of a Demon or an Elf that Tristain had contracted to defend the country had spread doubt amongst the common folk of Germania, who were quick to buy into the story, because no human being could possibly fly into the air and defeat as many as fifteen Dragon Knights along with their Dragons, it just wasn't possible.

For the moment, Negi just hoped his little display had not soured Tristain's international relationships further, before remembering he still had a conversation going with Louise.

"As expected." Negi said, sighing. "Louise, before long, I will most likely have to leave to go to war. When I do, there is a very high chance that I will break the contract that binds me as your familiar."

Louise blinked. "But..." She began, not quite certain why he would be saying such a thing. "I will be going to war too, and one of us needs to die to sever the contract..." She trailed off, disbelief clear in her voice. She didn't want to believe Negi would even think of doing so. Were all of his promises about being with her all empty?

The sadness in her voice almost made Negi flinch. But he already expected it and had prepared accordingly. "No." Negi said, closing his eyes. "You are not going to war, Louise. You are far from ready, either mentally or magically." Those words caused Louise's eyes to widen to plate size.

Who was he, to order her to remain away from war? She was a noble, a goddamn Valliere, like hell she would stay away while even her classmates fought in the war! There was absolutely no way that she would let her familiar talk to her that way! Even if he was an inhuman being that seemed to possess wisdom beyond his age, she still would not let him stand in her way to being of use to the queen. "WHAT?" Louise's voice could be heard pretty much across the entire village.

Negi's ears ringed for a few seconds. "What you just heard. You are still an innocent, Louise. And even if it damns me, I will protect that innocence."

What the hell could he possibly be talking about? Innocence? Well, she _was_... that... but she was far from innocent! She'd seen death before! She'd seen her familiar receive grievous wounds time and time again! She was trained for battle by that same familiar (although barely), so why would he insist on maintaining her away? She couldn't form words, although she didn't know why her throat was knotted like that.

"B-B-But!"

"Louise... You have never killed anyone before." Negi said, exhaling a long breath before he continued to speak. "It never gets any easier, and it will haunt you for the rest of your life. I still have nightmares, Louise. I won't let that happen to you." The redhead familiar spoke, nodding to himself. "Even if it means plunging into the deepest darkness, I will make sure you never sink with me."

"Partner, I don't think anything has ever hindered the brutality with which you fight." Derflinger said, confused by his reluctance to kill. "When you fought that Romalian, the intent to kill was fairly evident, even with a wooden weapon."

Negi smiled. "That is a problem, yes." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It is the only way I know how to fight. My master developed my particular style modeled after my mother's, and she was... less than nice."

Louise didn't know what to feel. Anger? Frustration? She certainly felt those two. Even a hint of resignation, in that she knew, at the very least subconsciously, that her familiar was correct, and that she could not dismiss his words for he spoke from experience. Annoyance? She felt that, as well. But there was something off. She thought her anger would have over powered everything. That her frustration would have clouded her judgment and in it, she would have fallen for familiar patterns.

But even inside her rage, the fact that her familiar, even if he was saying he might cut their bond, was stating that everything he did was for her protection. It filled her with weird sensations she wasn't quite used to. She had never thought someone would be devoted to herself in that sense. In the end, it only ended feeding the pond of the sadness at the back of her mind.

The sadness that began with his mentioning of severing the contract.

"Still..." She had to seek confirmation. It was not something possible. It could not be done. Countless mages had tried to dispel the contract, and all of them had failed. "You cannot break the contract, you cannot die, thus severing it would require my..."

Negi shook his head. "As I said a few times before, I know of a spell that can break any enchantment, any contract, any curse, even disrupt large scale spells. It took me nearly two years to develop this at the height of my power, and even then I had a rough outline to work from. It is, without a doubt, the most complicated and difficult spell I know." He explained. "And the first, and only, time I used it, it took me a week to prepare for it."

Louise blinked. Such a ridiculous spell that requires a ritual like that would be, in hindsight, quite befitting of its ability. A spell that could basically counter all magic had to have a significant drawback to it.

"But then, Partner, how do you plan to use it?" Derflinger asked. "In the middle of a war, you won't get a week of free time."

"I don't need it. I needed it that time because the curse I was dealing with was created by one of the most powerful mages in my world. I can't quite compare to him in the raw power department, so I had to compensate." Negi explained, rubbing his chin. "Comparing the two spells... It is like comparing the sun to a candle."

Louise seemed unhappy with the comparison. Was their bond really so weak?

"Although, to be fair, it was casted by my father, who was one of the most powerful mages of all time." Negi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "He wasn't really good with these kinds of spells, so he overcharged it as much as he could just in case it failed, and it ended up being basically unbreakable, even to some of the oldest and most knowledgeable archmages of my world. So, yeah, it was a special circumstance."

Negi fished into his pocket and pulled his hand out. "This is..."

"The Ruby Of Water." Louise said.

Negi nodded. "It won't be safe with me." he added. "When I depart, I will return this to you, Louise."

The pinkette shook her head rapidly. "No." She said. "You will return it when you get back." There was no lack of confidence, no wish, nothing but certainty. Louise knew, after all, just how hard to kill Negi was.

The redhead smiled. "Maybe." He replied, seemingly fallen into musing.

He knew that, regardless of what he did, he would cut ties soon.

The runes' light only grew stronger every day, and soon, it would begin piercing through the darkness again. He could not let the runes take him over, as everything lead to him becoming fiercely protective of Louise, to the point of violence at the slightest provocation. He would absolutely not let that happen.

* * *

Negi tilted his head. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting Julio to receive him at the academy's main gate when he returned from the city with the groceries and a Louise that still seemed to be somewhat in doubt and depressed.

"Just come with me." He had said, and since it was clearly something important, Negi would agree and just go with him for the time being. Julio had not done anything that warranted mistrust, but even so Negi kept an eye out. It wouldn't do to get caught off guard twice. He was glad he made it a habit to carry Derflinger practically everywhere now.

Nobody who knew him ever said anything about it. After all, barehanded he was even more dangerous than with a sword, so it made sense that they'd see him carrying Derflinger around as him bringing a friend who couldn't walk on its own power.

It wasn't entirely far from the truth. However, as he was lead to the office that Agnes had claimed for herself not too long ago, a place that could seriously use some decoration, he couldn't stop himself from wondering what the blonde would want from him. Another mission, perhaps? Maybe she wanted him to aid in the recruitment campaigns or something? He wouldn't put it past her.

When they went in, Julio did as he accustomed and leaned against a wall, letting Agnes take the stage. "Springfield, Valliere." She greeted them in the most professional way possible, her hands locked together, resting on her desk. Apparently, she was used to a more intimidating form of communication, but she still had a long way to go if she wanted to intimidate Negi. Monsters aren't so easily scared, you see.

"Good morning, Agnes." Negi and Louise said, taking turns. Negi actually smiled at her in that same way that made lesbians question their sexuality, while Agnes noticed Louise wasn't quite as open as usual. Something to be investigated later.

"Did either of you know that there is a secret, underground library in this academy?" She asked, smiling a little when Negi tilted his head in confusion.

"There is?" Maybe this world had more similarities to his own than Negi had guessed, if they hid important documents and books in an underground library in a magic academy. He just hoped it wasn't as... over the top as Library Island was. Immortal or not, there are only so many arrows to the knee one can take before it becomes annoying.

"Yes. It is used to store secret documents that cannot be destroyed." Agnes quickly continued, nodding. "I have obtained a permit from Her Majesty to investigate the contents of those documents." She said, and then her expression changed from calm to clear anger. "But... Headmaster Osmond..."

Louise was starting to figure out why she had never heard of it. Most likely it held secret documents that would expose the corruption in the court, but could not be destroyed because they were fairly important and destroying them wouldn't be a good idea.

"He said that he had received no order to open the entrance." It was quite clear that Agnes believed he was lying off his ass. Negi could see why. The old man was not as innocent as most people would instantly assume he is. The redhead had far too much experience dealing with old men with a pleasant façade to be fooled by Osmond. "So he won't open it."

"Even though he received Her Majesty's permission?" Louise asked, taking a step forward. Again, it had less of her usual demeanor and more of an uncertainty and sadness that neither Julio nor Agnes could quite place. It was weird to witness Louise like that. Something had definitely happened.

"Must be quite dangerous." Julio said. "It has been there for thousands of years. It is surely filled with traps." The Romalian explained, from his spot in the wall, opening his eyes and grinning at everyone else. "From what we have uncovered, it has anti-theft magic protecting it. Merely going inside could put our lives in danger." He said. Then he looked at Negi. "Well, most of us anyway." he added.

"I am a Musketeer! I don't fear danger!" Agnes snapped, slamming her fists on the desk.

"Agnes, Musketeer or not, you are still mortal." Negi corrected, closing his eyes and holding back the need to sigh in exasperation. He began to wonder if he was an insanity magnet, and missed the hypocrisy of that thought. "Still, I am rather curious." Mostly because of a chat he'd had not too long ago. Agnes could only possibly be looking for one thing. "What are we looking for?"

Agnes narrowed her eyes. "For the last piece of information I will need before my revenge is complete." she said. Negi sighed. He'd known that it was unlikely that she'd be convinced on the spot, but hope's the last thing to die, ain't it?

"Revenge?" Louise asked, wondering what she could be talking about.

Julio, meanwhile, got off the wall. "It's natural to help your friends when it is necessary, right?" Julio asked, turning to the pinkette and her familiar.

"Of course." Negi replied, smiling at him, though he didn't know if in this case it was such a good idea.

"To be fair, you are the only friends that I have." Julio admitted shamelessly. "So I wouldn't really know." The blond took a moment to chuckle.

Negi laughed a little. "I have a hard time believing you have a hard time making friends, Julio." Negi replied, with a smile on his face. "On second thought, no, I don't actually. I know the feeling

"You two irritate me." Louise said, glaring at the two idiots who were still quite busy discussing the finer points of how difficult it is for a crazy sexy man to have friends that did not resent them for being, well, too sexy for their shirts.

It seemed to snap Julio to attention, in any case. "Ah, yes. Louise, do you think you can open the door?" the blond with Heterochromia asked, smiling at her using the most charming smile he could muster. It was a testament to Louise's self control that she didn't become a blushing, sputtering mess at that.

"Well... I don't know about _opening_ it." Louise admitted, a bit nervously. "I can bring down almost anything with Explosion, though." She added, a bit sheepishly.

"Normally, that would be enough." Negi admitted. "However, it would be best if we did not destroy the door. It's a matter of security."

Agnes nodded. Unlike her, other people were not badass and would thus be in danger in a place filled with traps.

Then, a light bulb seemed to go off in Louise's head. "Wait, I know who can open it for us!" She nearly yelled.

_Cut to a laboratory where a blonde woman is currently attempting to discover the power of rock through alchemy._

Eleonore most decidedly did _not_ like the intrusion while she was working on things completely unrelated to doors. "... So you want me to open a door with magic?"

She wondered why, if Negi and Louise were around, they couldn't do it themselves. Surely Louise could just explode the crap out of it, and a mage of Negi's caliber should be capable of at least _that_... In any case, she'd never miss a chance to show her little sister how magic actually works. Maybe then she'd learn something.

Hopefully.

* * *

After a trip through the women's bathroom, Negi, Agnes, Julio, Eleonore and of course, everyone's favorite walking explosive, Louise, found themselves walking downstairs, relying on Negi's lantern finger and an actual lantern courtesy of Agnes. That finger thing was, evidently, incredibly useful, since it worked more like a flashlight than as a lantern, which allowed them to see into the distance as well as right next to themselves.

Meanwhile, Louise wanted to confirm her doubts. "... I wonder why they didn't just burn these documents." She asked. Surely, someone would be able to answer.

"They cannot burn the royal documents. They are the only proof of the nobles' actions, and the crown uses them to keep track of their subordinates." Eleonore corrected. "However, they cannot expose them publicly, either. So, hiding them where no one would look is the best option."

"It's quite contradictory." Negi said, looking at Eleonore as they finished rounding around and found themselves staring at an enormous door. "But it's necessary." He finished.

"It is also as old as our political system itself." Eleonore finished. Then she pulled out what looked like a pair of those strange binoculars you sometimes see refined ladies use when watching Opera on TV. Seriously, I have no idea what they're called, nor do I care to know. "Interesting..." She mumbled to herself.

"How do we open it?" Julio asked.

"The magic lock is formed by three groups. Opening each one of them is easy, but if I am not mistaken, doing so out of order or messing up the timing could prevent us from opening it entirely." A convoluted password system. Thank god I don't live in that world.

"Then, can you do it?" Agnes asked.

Negi had to actually compliment Eleonore's skill at analyzing an enchantment and discovering its properties so easily. Maybe it'd be fun to have her look over an artifact. See if she could break down the immensely complicated items of old.

"Of course, who do you think I am?" Eleonore quickly replied. "Lock! Here is your key! OPEN!" An unnecessary enchantment, but I wouldn't begrudge her wanting to ham it up. Lord knows it is satisfying as all hell.

The locks flashed, and all opened in quick succession, from top to bottom.

"As expected from elder sister." Louise said, nodding to herself. Maybe it would have been better to pay attention to her lessons after all, she was a skilled mage.

"I am thankful." Agnes said, nodding to Eleonore. "However, from now on, I will go on ahead alone." She said, holding the lamp up.

"I can't accept that." Julio said, grinning. "We came this far and the fun's just begun, right?"

"I opened the lock entirely because I want to know what lies inside." Eleonore said, putting her hands on her hips. "Finally, I might be able to discover whether or not the rumors about my father being a playboy in his youth are true or not!" She said, glaring at the far distance. Louise felt a big drop of sweat fall down her skin.

"But it will be dangerous." Agnes replied.

"Maybe." Negi said, shrugging. "But that is what you've got a meatshield for, right?" he said, smiling.

"What's a meatshield?" Louise asked, turning to Negi. From the looks everyone but Julio gave him, he had to blink and look at the blond to get confirmation.

"A meatshield is basically a sacrificial lamb that takes damage instead of the... squishier members of the party." Julio commented, snickering slightly at the faces Louise, Eleonore and Agnes gave him when he called them squishy. "It's generally done by adventuring parties expecting to face monsters, and it's generally a role filled by powerful warriors."

"So we're an adventuring party now?" Eleonore asked.

"Yep." Negi replied. "It's more fun that way." He admitted.

Louise shook her head. "So, it makes more sense for us all to go together if it's going to be dangerous, right?"

Agnes felt the strange need to laugh. "Yes. You are right." She admitted.

"Then, let's go." Julio said, however, as the party got in formation to walk forward, they heard the steps coming down. Negi narrowed his eyes. He should have heard them before, but it seemed that their owner had been dead set on not making any noise. Only the steps of a professional could be so silent.

"Where do you think you are going?" Colbert's voice rang through the hallway.

Negi turned his head almost immediately, his hand leaving Derflinger's handle. "Colbert?" He said, narrowing his eyes.

Said balding man nodded, before turning to glare at Agnes. "Agnes, what are you doing here? The headmaster has already denied your petition." he said, his voice carrying a hint of a threat of retribution in it.

"As if I care." Agnes yelled, her eyes narrowing. "Neither he nor you have any authority over me. For as long as I stay here, I am the highest authority."

Negi shook his head. "That's not how you convince someone." The redhead familiar said. "Colbert, why would you not want us to go?" Negi asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It is dangerous." Colbert quickly said.

Negi didn't buy it for one second. "Let's go." There was something off about Colbert, and he couldn't place his finger on what it was. Why was he so adamant to their visit to what was, for all intents and purposes, a hidden library? The hunt for knowledge didn't seem like it would be something that the teacher would be against.

And safety was not an issue either. Everyone there, well, except for Louise, was experienced in their field of work. Julio was a _very_ competent swordsman as well as quite clever, Agnes was not the captain of the musketeers just because the princess liked her and Eleonore was an experienced triangle class mage. Not to mention, Negi had shown several times that he was _very_ powerful and capable of protecting them from any harm that would come off a trap.

Apparently, Louise wasn't feeling like keeping secrets away from Colbert, so when he asked exactly what they were doing there, she quickly replied that it had something to do with Agnes' revenge, but didn't specify as to why.

The teacher's reaction was... completely expected.

"Revenge, you say?" Colbert asked, narrowing his eyes. "Revenge is... the most worthless of causes."

"Perhaps." Negi replied. "But it is a cause, nonetheless, and it is important to Agnes. She is my friend, Colbert, I will help her however I can." It would not be the first time he compromised his morals to help a friend. Actually, scratch that, he never did. His morals _were_ based around helping his friends.

"But... why now?" Colbert asked.

"The army will soon take over one of Albion's port cities. When they do, Her Majesty will go to the frontline to bolster morale." Agnes explained. "And when she does, I will join her." And Negi had a ghost of an idea about why she wanted to join her in the frontline. Without her revenge, she wouldn't have a purpose to live for. Such a stupid, senseless waste of life.

Still work in progress.

"So you want this to be resolved before you go... so you can die with no regrets when the time comes?" Colbert asked, his voice showing clearly his disgust about her ideas. Negi sighed, it seemed like the teacher had hit the nail straight on its head, if Agnes' scowl was anything to go by.

However, Louise bought Agnes some time, as she didn't seem like she wanted to dignify Colbert's question with an answer. "Her Majesty will join the frontline?" Louise asked, surprised, shocked even.

Agnes nodded. "She said that since she signed the declaration of war, causing the army to risk their lives fighting for Tristain, that it was only fitting that she should do the same as their leader."

Negi was used to the complete opposite. Politicians hide themselves away, after all, they only started the war. Why should they go out to fight? They leave that part to the poor. War pigs.

Mundus Magicus, by contrast had both cases in spades. The Hellan Imperial Family was comprised almost entirely of powerful individuals, who could likely take on a whole platoon of magic knights on their own. The Ostian Royal Family had had a rather corrupt king, but Queen Arika was one of the most powerful individuals in Mundus Magicus _period_, which she made quite evident when she joined Ala Rubra.

Then you have the most despicable of the lot, the Megalomesembrian Council, which of course never had anything to do with a war. Negi took a deep breath to let his hatred subside after the memory of them faded away. The fact that he knew his vengeance would never come offered even more fuel to his fire, however.

"You still haven't answered." Colbert said.

It was, however, clear that Colbert had gone ignored by Agnes once again. However, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Like a great worm that had suddenly sprung from the wall. Right next to Julio. "Oh, shi-"

The party of six stood on a semi circle around the titanic worm that had erupted from the ground, Julio leaping back for safety as the thing seemed to hang back. It was, very clearly, completely blind and seemed to rely on sound to find its prey.

Nobody could quite move, however, after Julio leaped back. The thought didn't even cross their heads, and it was most decidedly not due to fear, as Louise had faced a _much_ more scary monster before. No, it seemed as if there was something preventing them from acting out of turn.

Negi, meanwhile, raised a hand. _"Iaculatio Fulgoris."_ he said in a tone so low he might as well not have. With a wave of his hand, six yellow, cracking spears appeared in thin air, and then shot at the creature faster than the eye could see. When they impacted, the creature howled in pain and reeled back.

Louise could have sworn she saw a large, white '6634' flicker into existence above the spot where the lightning spears crashed into the creature. What could it possibly mean?

The creature was left Stunned from the shock the spears brought and thus could not recover in time for when Agnes dashed forward and stabbed it, again, a strange number appeared, this time reading 344, driving the sword upward, Agnes leaped off the ground, causing a '430' to flicker into existence again, kicking off while pulling it out, causing the number to read '412' as she went back to exactly the same spot she'd begun running from.

Louise recognized it. It was a mid level magical creature, a Land Worm. Or at least one of its family, because she was certain Land Worms weren't that big. She, for some reason, also knew that it had 62180 HP remaining, despite not knowing what HP even means. Maybe this was the cave's magic?

However, it was Colbert's turn, it seemed. The man in blue sighed, waved his staff around and let loose a torrent of blue, intensely heated flame towards it with a yell of "Fire!" The creature howled in pain as the blast engulfed it in its entirety, however, it quickly gave way, and Louise once again saw a white number raise. This time, it read 1640. If she were better at math, she'd have concluded that the beast now had 60540 life remaining.

This time it was Julio's turn, however, he seemed to stand still to analyze the creature. "It's a Ground Worm. It is immune to earth and weak to water and it also has some degree of resistance to magic in general." He informed. "Don't get caught in its mouth, it will swallow you whole."

The rest of the party nodded. Eleonore lifted a few of the tiles the beast had crushed in its arrival and, once they were sharpened, tossed them at it. They dug into its skin, drawing blood as they did. A number reading '946' rose from the creature, and Louise was beginning to think this was utterly ridiculous.

Wordlessly, Louise raised her wand and tried to explode it to end the fight right then and there, but the creature seemed to weather the sizable explosion pretty well, as a number reading '1230' raised from its skin, leaving Louise perplexed. Apparently, the difference between Negi and most Halkeginian mages was more pronounced than she expected it to be.

However, all of its other wounds, seemed to disappear after the weapon that made them left it body, and the tiles that had penetrated inside its body were soon removed as the creature flexed its muscles, the wounds closing behind them.

It was Negi's turn again. "End the fight." Louise commanded.

"Now, before it shakes off the paralysis!" Agnes added, seeing as the lightning surging around the creature disappeared.

Negi nodded. Then it seemed as if the rest of the world had left existence as a large runic circle appeared below Negi. _"To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basileu Ouranionion. Epigenetheto, aithalous keraune hos Titenas phetheirein."_ Lightning cracked around Negi as the circle came to life, shining brightly. _"Ekatontakis kai khilias astrapsato."_ All of his powered gathered on his outstretched hand. _"Khilipl Astrape!"_

A brilliant, almost beautiful, display of fireworks ensued as the creature was fried from the inside out, it's horrifying howl of pain echoing across the tunnel. That attack was impressive every time Negi used it.

A white number reading '99999' raised from the creature's smoking flesh, along with a sign reading 'OVERKILL!'

"You overdid it." Louise said, deadpan. "Anyway, let's get moving. This feels too much like a... random encounter." She said, although she didn't know why she had used that terminology. Negi laughed. "What was wrong with that fight?" She added to herself.

"There was something odd." Agnes said. "I meant to continue my attack, but I felt the need to retreat when I wrenched my sword free." She said.

Colbert sighed. "It is the magic of this place. Here, all fights are like that. I do not know how it works, but I know that it can be either a blessing or a curse, depending on our luck." He explained, rolling his arm. "We have to take turns depending on our natural agility to attack. For some reason, everything works through numbers here."

As Colbert launched into an explanation, Negi remembered something very important. Evangeline liked playing retro role playing games in her spare time. He ignored the fact that she liked to do so naked, right now was not the time for biologically natural reactions, and this was too much like one of them. It was actually kind of funny to think that Evangeline would be jealous of him for having to put up with.

It took like six random encounters, but what sealed the deal was the fact that Louise _levelled up_ at some point. Apparently, this place would be great for training if she was so inclined. Another Ground Worm and a couple other cave creatures was enough to do it.

However, since they were upstanding folk, they didn't check the corpses of the creatures that they had defeated, or they would've found the treasure that all other adventurers had been carrying when those creatures devoured them.

All in all, they had some degree of fun. The worst they had gotten had been a couple scratches, and Louise was really starting to like the 'battles' she fought, since she could take free potshots at the enemy without any retribution whatsoever.

The hallway stretched almost into infinity, however, and it had annoyed her far too much to truly enjoy her time there.

Colbert hadn't enjoyed it at all, however, he had displayed the fact that he was quite used to the conditions inside the forbidden library...

* * *

**And Now, For Something Completely Different:** Stat Sheets, let's see if you can figure out which sheeth I'm using as a template and where I'm stealing ranks from.

Negi Springfield Entheophysia.  
(AKA: Lightning God, Genius Mage, Godslayer)  
Magister Magi Level ?  
Hp: 9999/9999  
Mp: 9999/9999  
Right Handed  
Attack: 6400  
Accuracy: 79 - 99%  
Defense: 2100  
Evasion: 99 - 90%  
Magic Defense: 80 - 90%  
Skill Level:  
Fists: 30  
Swords: 15  
Spears: 25  
Strength: B+  
Spirit: E  
Intelligence: A+  
Stamina: A  
Agility: EX  
Magic: A+++

Noble Phantasm: Mille Vincula - The Thousand Bonds

Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliere  
(AKA: Louise The Zero)  
Void Mage Level 2  
Hp: 100/100  
Mp: 600/600  
Right Handed  
Attack: 25  
Accuracy: 4 - 65%  
Defense: 10  
Evasion: 1 - 40%  
Magic Defense: 1 - 40%  
Skill Level:  
Wands: 5  
Strength: E  
Spirit: B  
Intelligence: A  
Stamina: D  
Agility: D  
Magic: A+

Noble Phantasm: ?

For comparison...

Agnes Chevalier de Milan  
Musketeer Captain Level 36  
Hp: 1600/1600  
Mp: 0/0  
Ambidextrous  
Attack: 300  
Accuracy: 13 - 99%  
Defense: 140  
Evasion: 6 - 50%  
Magic Def: 30 - 90%  
Skill Level:  
Sword: 30  
Pistol: 22  
Strength: C+  
Spirit: A  
Intelligence: C  
Stamina: B  
Agility: C+  
Magic: -

Noble Phantasm: Revenge Of The Burned

If you couldn't figure it out yet, it's a combination of Final Fantasy and Fate/Stay Night.


	29. The Library Of Babylonia

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 29: This Is Not The Library Of Babel Because The Books Actually Make Sense

Agnes rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to stave off the incoming headache. "How many giant worms can there be in a single tunnel?" She asked at no one in particular.

If they weren't appearing from nowhere, and now with added tiny worms that tried to touch them in places that she'd rather not say, it wouldn't be a problem. If they were coming from the front, she knew for a fact that Springfield could kill them from afar.

It only made her put it into further perspective just how much of a monster he truly was. Oh, sure, he was as handsome as they come, and even she could admit that if she lost her focus she could have been more compromised regarding the true nature of the two playboys in the team that was accompanying her. However, she didn't only guard the princess' body. Her heart was also quite important and neither of the two playboys gave her a good feeling.

Somewhere during her inner monologue, something that only extremely skilled swordsmen can do in the middle of chopping a small worm's body in half, she also thought about using them to train her musketeers. After all, the two jerks were just about as pretty as one can be, and had made the phrase 'distracted by the sexy' into something that really existed.

If the musketeers could be trained to ignore them, then they'd probably be capable of retaining focus in any situation. She quickly dispelled the image in her mind of both of them wrestling shirtless. Certainly, that'd be nightmarishly effective in her training endeavor, but right now it was unnecessarily distracting.

The big worm seemed to stare at her hungrily, but again, it didn't move. It wasn't its turn. The spell binding their actions was both a blessing and a curse in the sense that in one hand, it allowed them to get through untouched. On the other hand, they wouldn't be able to dodge if the damnable things did get to their turn.

Springfield could only kill one at once, so they had to take care of the smaller mooks while he one-hit-killed the bigger ones. It was still frightening to realize that the most powerful monsters she knew of were so easily felled by a single one of his spells, and he didn't seem to be getting tired at all.

Regardless, Agnes watched as Springfield's turn came and he fried the thing with one of his insanely powerful lightning blasts. He called it 'Thousand Thunderbolts', and it certainly merited the name.

Colbert, however, stopped them as they began to run forward. "What is it? While we wait here, more could be coming to attack us."

The man shook his balding head. "They will only attack us if we move. If we stand still, we can take a breather." He explained. "It's the same with all monsters here." He added. Then Agnes remembered that he had, in fact, been here before and probably knew the system better than anyone else.

Louise collapsed to the ground, falling on her butt, causing her hair to pool behind her. "I'm so tired…" She mumbled. Having had to explode damn near everything that couldn't be killed with straight up physical force, such as the gigantic piles of slime that showed up occasionally, was taking its toll on her. That and all the running.

Negi smiled. "It seems you need more physical conditioning." He said to himself.

Louise instantly shot to her feet and began waving her hands in front of her. "N-No, no, I'm okay? See! I can run just fine for a couple hours more!"

Eleonore nodded to herself. That was simply one of the most effective forms of motivation she'd ever seen. "I am actually rather interested in your methods of training. Even I have to admit that Louise has improved immensely on making use of her magic."

"I'd be happy to show them to you, though they're just a watered down version of my master's training." He seemed nostalgic at that point. "If I could figure out how to create a diorama sphere I could have her undertake my master's training…"

"Diorama… sphere?" Eleonore asked. Even Colbert seemed entirely curious at that point.

"It's too hard to explain, so I will give you the gist of it." Negi said. "It's basically a magical pocket dimension where time runs at a different speed than in the real world. My master had one wherein an entire day inside was equal to an hour outside. That is how I became so strong so fast."

"That just raises so many questions…" Colbert mumbled. "Ah, the revelations that come from your world astound me more every day." He added, sighing.

"I'll figure out a way to open a gateport, don't worry." Negi said, smiling widely. "I'll make it so you can at least visit." Mundus Magicus already had the fake-bodies project down pat, so they could visit even if they turned out to be magical constructs like the natives from Mars. "Plus, I seriously need to get back to work." He added, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Agnes seemed contemplative as she sat down and stared off into the distance.

"A coin for your thoughts?" Julio offered, sitting down next to her and staring away into the darkness just as she did.

"Soon… Soon I will find out who the last few culprits of D'Angleterre's destruction are…" She said, narrowing her eyes. "Soon I will bring them to justice." She said.

Julio sighed. "I can understand your pain. Before I joined the church and became a priest" Agnes scoffed, she couldn't ever see Julio as a priest. "I was a fish out of the water. I had nobody in Romalia. I had everything taken away from me shortly before I became an agent for the pope, and since he was the one who glued the fragments of my life back together, I decided I might as well dedicate myself to aiding him." Julio said, in a low tone. "I understand the need for revenge better than what you'd think I do."

"You didn't watch your family and everyone you know die right in front of your eyes and felt the impotence when you set your eyes on their murderers." Agnes accused.

"But I know who it was that took everything from me. I look at him in the face every day of my life, Agnes. Well, except for these last few ones since, well, he's in Romalia and all." The fake priest conceded, sounding far too cheerful for his words. "And you know what? I have forgiven him. I forgave him long ago, when I realized that killing him wouldn't bring my life back. When I realized that I was stuck in the life I had now."

Agnes grunted, a noncommittal sound that said nothing about what she thought about the young man's words. She couldn't quite agree with him, but she did understand his position. She could understand his loyalty to the pope. The man was probably filling the same role that the princess did for her, a morality chain that kept her from going batshit with grief and rage.

There was another thud as a second person dropped next to Agnes. "You too, huh?" Said a far off sounding voice. Agnes knew the pain of the man sitting next to her well. After all, he had shared the story some time ago. "The world must be a small place, to gather everyone who's ever sought revenge in one place."

"That was why you sympathized with my cause, right?" Agnes questioned, remembering when he had defended her reason for going into the forbidden library.

Negi nodded. "The reason I originally was so desperate to gain power was to avenge the destruction of my own home village. I eventually found both the main perpetrator as well as the people who'd ordered it. They were the same people who ruined the life of my mother and countless people when they falsely accused her as being the one who'd prompted a calamity that felled her kingdom's capital."

Agnes snorted. "Ruined lives seems to be a theme in our little group…" she mumbled.

Then he sighed, rubbing the top of his head. "I wish I could say I went the higher route on my own, but when someone who claimed to be the culprit admitted to his part in the events of my village… I kinda lost it." He said, offering an embarrassed grin. "I still have my students to thank for slapping some sense into me. If it weren't for them, that man would've manipulated me to eliminate his political enemies for him."

"I did that part willingly." Julio replied, offering Negi a rueful grin. "The Pope had many dissidents who didn't believe in his authority."

"I don't doubt it." The amount of people who called bullshit on the pope back in his own world probably completely outstripped the amount of people who did the same in Halkeginia, though.

"Most of my targets coincide with the people that need to be removed for the good of Tristain." Agnes said. "It doesn't surprise me at all." She added.

"Anyway… The point is, we know how it feels to have your revenge so close and so far away. All I could do was publically discredit them when they opposed me. I won't talk to you about moral superiority or anything like that. I have done many things I wish I could do differently." Negi explained. "But don't let it consume you. Don't let it be your only purpose for existing. There are people who care about you, Agnes."

Julio smirked. "Do you think that we'd want to get news of your death in the battlefield? Do you think the princess will think about how you died content because you'd finished your revenge or about how you died in the middle of the battlefield under her orders and blame herself for it?" He began, standing up. "How do you think your musketeers, the ones who look up to you as their leader and trainer, will react to you being an empty husk with no purpose?"

"Just think about it." Negi added, turning around and walking back to where Louise and Eleonore were discussing whether or not the latter could survive two days under the former's training regime. Negi knew the answer, but it was funny to watch them argue nonetheless.

"This is unnecessary… young people such as yourselves shouldn't have to face the horrors of war."

However, when he got back to them, their topic of conversation had changed. It had changed to Louise's intent to join the war effort. This made sense from her standpoint, as she was not gonna let the princess go off alone. No way would she ever risk the princess entering a battle without her.

Even if all she could do was soak blows for her, she wouldn't let her go to her possible death alone.

Colbert's yell made Agnes stand up. "They are fighting for their country." She said, narrowing her eyes and locking a deadly gaze upon the pacifist teacher. "It should be an honor to be allowed to do that much."

"That is absurd!" Colbert snapped back. "You are just saying that because you have never seen the true face of war!"

Agnes seemed to freeze on the spot, her right hand, the one that held the lantern, trembling slightly as she tried not to explode on the spot from sheer anger.

"Have you?" Negi asked. There were many things he didn't know about Colbert, as most of what he knew came from Colbert's current life. His past was still shrouded with mystery, as was expected from someone who wasn't particularly proud of their past.

"I…" Colbert stopped, his voice trembling.

"I have." Agnes said, her voice cold and flat. "Although, more than a war, it was a massacre." She added, gripping the handle of her blade tightly. Colbert frowned harder than ever, looking conflicted.

"Twenty years ago… with the excuse that it was a measure to destroy the last vestiges of rebellion in Tristain … The religious leaders began to wipe out any and all villages that could have been a refuge for them. Lishimon himself planned everything." Agnes explained, glaring at Colbert as she did, her voice tinged with equal parts anger and sorrow.

"That…" Colbert seemed to be shocked.

"That man obtained his position through his work in eliminating the rebels and used the massacre to secure his position even further. Due to him, my family and friends… all of them… were burned to ashes." She said, letting go of her sword and staring at the distance behind Colbert. "I am the only known survivor, rescued by a turncoat of all things."

"So, your anger is still…"

"Even if I have killed Lishimon, the group that performed the massacre of D'Angleterre are still alive! That is why I cannot let this opportunity pass me by. There must be records of that mission somewhere, and if there are, they are in this library!"

"So… that's why…" Louise said, looking away, not quite sure how to react to this. She'd come along for the sake of helping Agnes, since she felt some measure of respect and admiration for the woman, even if she'd deny admiring anyone who isn't a mage.

"Yes." Agnes said nonchalantly. "Break time is over. We should continue. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Colbert sighed. "There is something I haven't spoken about yet. There is a monster guarding the library. There always is one." He said, looking apologetic. "And it tends to be far too tough to combat it, no matter who we bring with us. So far, it has proven to be completely invulnerable to everything we have tried to use to kill it. The only way to reliably get past it is for someone to lure it away while everyone else continues."

"So coming here was a suicide mission anyway?" Asked Eleonore. "This doesn't sound like something that Osmond would ever approve of."

"The creature is very persistent, once it has a target, it will continue to chase them until it can't anymore. It, however, isn't very smart. While it does take on different forms, it is never smaller than the entrance to the tunnel, and it will try to attack those within it until it can't anymore." Colbert explained. "So if someone could gain its attention, they'd be in relatively little danger. However, it's fond of utilizing magic to flush them out, so it has to be someone who is either skilled in defense or avoidance."

"Somehow, this seems awfully convenient." Muttered Eleonore. "Almost as if it was designed that way."

Colbert smiled. "It was. I don't know much of the original design of this tunnel, as it predates the archives in the library, however, from what I can gather it was designed to hold a treasure that was incredibly valuable, but could be taken by those worthy enough to wield it. It is most likely using elven magic to achieve this."

Louise's eyes widened. "Does this mean that the treasure is still here?"

"No, it was taken long ago. Legend says that the Gandalfr himself possessed it."

During Colbert's explanation, however, Negi had hung back, actually taking a moment to have a private conversation. "You have been awfully quiet lately, Derflinger…" He said, looking with curiosity filled eyes at the sword in his hand.

"… There's something about this situation that I don't like, but I don't know what. It's just… there's been this ominous feeling I've had ever since we wandered in here." Derflinger spoke, sounding nowhere near as boisterous or confident as it usually did. "And it's been steadily getting worse. Thought you should know."

The sword had accurately guessed that Negi at some point would've wondered about its silence. Nonetheless, he rejoined the group just as they were discussing the strategy for actually confronting the creature, and possible guesses as what form it'd take and how to be prepared for them.

"Who will deal with it, then?" Asked Julio, although everyone knew the answer, since they immediately turned to Negi. "That was a dumb question, wasn't it?" Everyone nodded as an answer.

"Sometimes, being immortal comes in handy." Negi said, smiling.

They continued to walk, having already decided that there was really no reason not to have him take care of the damnable Boss. Then they came upon a gigantic bridge that was actually lit by the sunlight going through the cracks in the ceiling. Guessing this to be one of the hills not too far away from the academy, Agnes scoffed, seeing no gigantic monster…

…Only for a ludicrously huge white dragon to swoop down from the ceiling, leaving behind itself a path of white dust and razor sharp wind gales. Without even stopping for the RPG mechanics to take place, the draconic entity flapped its wings and stopped its descent a few hundred meters away from them, throwing its long neck and head back until it stared at the ceiling.

The sound of cracking lightning and of a distant thunderclap warned everyone of the gathering lightning in its maws. Negi put both of his hands forward and created a much wider barrier around himself than usual. "Kratiste Aigis!" Upon his cry, the barrier came to life, showing everyone its ridiculously overblown form as countless charms, bounded fields wards and ritual circles formed all around the entire adventuring party.

The dragon let loose its breath weapon, letting free a stream of white and yellow energy that tore through the air, the dragon's mighty roar making the flimsy bridge shake under its power and deafening those behind the barrier for an instant.

The stream of energy crashed against the barrier and maintained its assault for a couple seconds, but afterwards dissipated to reveal that it hadn't managed to pierce through it.

Negi offered the dragon a grin as he looked up to the still floating thing. It seemed outright confused. "Run along, now." He said. "This might be a bit… out of hand." He said, then he turned his head around and looked at his allies from over his shoulder, offering a thumbs up. "I'll be fine!" he added, pulling his glasses off.

Louise almost instantly, but shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked away from his face. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"If these get broken, I don't have a way to replace them, and that would be a huge problem." Negi admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "So… Can you hold them for me?"

Louise nodded with a smile. "Don't go making the dragon fall in love with you, now." She joked. Then she stopped. "No, I'm serious about that one." She added as an afterthought.

Right as he turned back, there was the sound of another distant thunderclap as the dragon prepared to fire another stream of lightning.

Nodding dumbly, Louise began to run, seeing that everyone was already doing so. She sneaked one last look behind her to see Negi activating that ridiculously powerful lightning form of his. However, she looked up to see that the dragon's form was also ghostly white. However, she firmly squashed any doubts she might have had.

Negi wasn't gonna be killed, even if he did get his ass kicked, so she wasn't gonna worry about it that much.

The party, being down one member, continued on towards the library.

Once inside and far away from the blast zone, everyone relaxed. As they did, Colbert turned to the still panting with exertion musketeer captain. "Agnes…" he began.

"What?" She snapped back, forcefully placing her breathing under control.

"What will you do once you obtain the identities you seek?" Asked Colbert.

Agnes raised an eyebrow. "That much should be obvious."

"And what will you do afterwards? What will you do once your revenge is complete?" Colbert asked her, adjusting his glasses as he did. "You are the only survivor… will you throw your precious life away just for vengeance and war?" He asked, sounding more than a tad sorrowful about said fact.

Agnes refused to dignify that with an answer, instead adjusting the belt strapped to her waist, because her sword was poking her in places best left unmentioned.

"Have you ever fallen in love?" Colbert asked.

This almost caused Agnes to face-fault. To go from a perfectly serious conversation to… this? "What the..?"

"Love." Colbert replied. "Lust even." He added. "You are still young, you should try to experience life to the fullest. Don't you think that doing so is more important than senseless fighting?"

"That is stupid. We don't have time to speak about things like this!" She immediately snapped.

Louise, always one to be the teacher's pet, even if unconsciously, decided that that was the moment to pip in. "Actually, we have as much time as we need. Negi won't lose, and if he is in danger of losing, escape should be easy anyway." She said. "He's really, really fast." She added, seeing the looks of surprise in her companions' faces.

"I have heard a rather interesting piece of trivia that might be important regarding this…" Julio said, a self pleased grin on his face. "I wonder if it is, in fact, true that Captain Agnes of the Musketeers does not like men…"

Agnes snorted. "Most men are pigs indeed, and I have half a mind to disable your ability to be one forever…" She muttered, patting the sword at her hip. "What are you getting at?"

"Well, there are rumors, here and there. You understand, my… friends" His fangirls, everyone corrected for him. "Often spoke about them immediately after your training ended. I might have overheard a few. Would you care to learn them?"

Louise raised one eyebrow, as did Eleonore. Those moments of synchronicity were the ones which proved they were, indeed, siblings. "Now I'm curious." They both stated at the same time.

"There is the one rumor that says that Agnes does not like men because she, in fact, prefers the fairer sex." Julio said with a smile on his face that oozed smugness. He almost immediately dodged a swat to his head. "I am merely relaying the rumor, not propagating it." He said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture, seeing Agnes' eyebrow twitch and her fist tremble.

"I'm not a lesbian!" She yelled.

"… Nobody's buying it." Muttered Louise. "This explains so many things…" She added.

Julio smiled. "To be quite honest, I believe that nobody is truly straight or gay." He said, dodging another angry swipe. "Everyone has some degree of attraction for both sexes. It just takes a particularly attractive member of the appropriate sex to bring said attraction to the forefront." Agnes actually stopped trying to murder him at that point, so he decided to take another breath. Two bouts of intensive physical action in a row could destroy one's cardiac rhythm.

"Seriously?" Eleonore asked.

Julio nodded. "For instance, there have been more than one man who previously believed himself straight that have approached me." He said. "I'm just that pretty." He added, focusing his mismatched eyes on the entrance. "From what I've heard, Negi has had it worse than this, however. I'd rather not ask."

"I'm so going to ask when I get the chance." Louise spoke. Moments in which her familiar, so often impossibly cool, was on the wrong end of the short stick were few and far between and she could always use blackmail material.

"Cattleya will want to know, too." Eleonore informed. "As do I." She added.

"Do you enjoy making other people's lives miserable?" Asked Agnes to the fake priest swordsman.

"Only when it's funny." Julio spoke, offering her a beatific smile.

Colbert chuckled, seeing that their antics couldn't be stopped by something as simple as having met one of the most powerful magical beasts that live in Halkeginia. Talking about that, he was once again very surprised by the sheer power of the redheaded enigma known as Negi Springfield. To block such a powerful attack so easily…

What Colbert didn't know was that Negi had actually used a very powerful barrier to stop it.

… And such barriers were rare. Most had to take physical form. They couldn't outright manipulate raw willpower like that. It was far easier to manipulate an element than it was to manipulate raw willpower without any elemental affiliation, which is why enchanters weren't far more common than they were. Regardless, they had work to do.

"Let's get through here."

With the course set, they pushed through the double doors and entered the library, gasping in shock at the size of the incredibly tall bookcases that separated the square room into far smaller areas to peruse and search through.

"This is… incredible." Spoke Julio. "I never thought it'd be as big as the Romalian Archives…" He said, looking around as he stepped through the door.

"I wonder why there are so many documents that need to be hidden…" Louise muttered. She couldn't quite believe that the nobility would need to hide so many of their affairs' records like this.

"Little Louise, you must learn that not everything is as it seems at first glance. All noble families have done things they are not proud of, and many have skeletons in their dungeons. Records of every important event are kept here." Eleonore said. "It's just further explanation as to why the Royal Family continues to be in power to this day, and why there are some nobles whose positions are far more secure than others. It's not about money. It's about information. It's about reputation." She explained, walking behind the pinkette and gesturing towards the books as she walked. "This is the very essence of politics." She finished.

"Is that so?" Louise mumbled. "I don't like it." She finally passed judgment.

"No one does." Colbert said, sighing.

"But it's the tune that the nobility dances to, and you better learn the steps." Julio threw in his two cents.

Louise sighed in resignation about said fact.

"These documents are too recent. We should search further back." Agnes spoke, guiding everyone's attentions to the bookshelves as they continued to wander through the immense library.

It took fifteen minutes for them to come across the particular book that Agnes was looking for. It was even titled the 'D'Angleterre Incident'. Agnes sat in the stairs that lead to the second floor to read every detail of the operation, who gave the order, who formed the team, and while she was doing so, copying down whatever information she could onto a clear book she'd brought along just for said purpose.

Just then, an earthquake shook the ground.

"Well, they're taking their fight seriously, now." Julio said, smiling widely as he perused through a book that contained something that should never have been written down. He actually contemplated destroying the damnable affront against all that is the Bro Code. One of its rules was maintaining the utmost secrecy about what it entailed, which was one of the few rules that his status in the Bro Scale allowed Julio to actually divulge.

As it was, however, the book he was reading only mentioned some precepts and tenets in passing without mentioning what exactly they referred to and left them unexplained. A great risk if it came into the eyes of a woman who was aware of its existence, but nothing too dangerous to leave in a forgotten library that only politicians visited anyway.

Deciding to leave it be, he put it back in its place.

Meanwhile, Colbert went through a document regarding the funds directed towards the academy. He was outright pissed that more wasn't allotted towards his research and wanted to have proof when he called bullshit on Osmond's justifications of having limited bullshit.

Turns out, Colbert was right. There was far more funds than Osmond said there were. Well, now he would probably have enough money to actually get things done.

Eleonore was frustrated since while there was actually dirt on her family and her father, there was little to nothing of note in his youth. There were hints. Implications. Nothing explicit, however. This was incredibly frustrating, as her father and mother both kept a tight lip on the duke's past.

Louise had to admit, she was rather curious about her father's past and was actually helping Eleonore find evidence on his misspent youth. Both knew that their parents, both of them, had been considered very attractive in their youths. Louise did not, as a matter of fact, know that she was the spitting image of her mother at her age and assumed that she was as mature as Cattleya by then.

They were, therefore, going through books at an incredibly fast rate.

"I'm worried." However, this didn't prevent Louise from actually returning to worrying about her familiar. "I think he should've been done by this point…" She said. "How long has it been?"

"At most half an hour." Julio said. "Though I don't think we have been here for more than fifteen minutes." He added.

Colbert nodded. "I agree." He added, closing the book in his hands with a snap.

"The monster that Springfield is facing is very tough, but its attack wasn't able to scratch his barrier. He should be fine." Eleonore reassured Louise. "Now get back to helping me." She added, pulling on Louise's arms as they went through the library.

With a frustrated growl, however, Agnes slammed her book against the ground. "The captain's name is gone! Torn off the page!" She yelled in frustration, standing up. "This was pointless! I can't catch the main culprit of D'Angleterre's destruction!"

Colbert sighed. "I apologize for this trip being in vain." He said.

Julio sighed. "Have you gotten anything from this?" He asked.

Agnes took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "I have several leads. Most of which I have already pursued." She said, shaking her head. "No matter, I have the names of several officers that belonged to the unit. I will find them and I will get my answer before I kill them."

Colbert frowned at that, but didn't comment further.

"Let's go back, then." Julio said, placing the book in his hands back on the bookshelf he'd taken it from. "I'm certain that Negi must be bored of fighting that thing by now…"

Talking about said redhead…

There was a resonating crash as the draconic being slammed against a wall, it's ghostly, white form twisting and convulsing as it did. Negi floated several meters away, a frown on his face. He'd determined several things.

Whatever it was, it could change forms rapidly, even if it remained at a general size. It was also completely immune to lightning and wind elemental magic, and Negi wasn't even gonna try to use Light to fight it. He wasn't good at all in its use. He could try fire, but all the fire spells he knew were very heavy on the collateral damage part and they could make the bridge he was guarding from the being's efforts to destroy it be invalidated by his own actions.

Therefore, he settled on one of the few spells of Great Magic that he knew he could make single-target through synthesis.

It quickly changed form into something that gave Negi pause. The redhead blinked owlishly at the sight. There, about four stories tall, was… himself.

Oh, not as what he looked like right now, no. Negi was seeing what he had seen when Evangeline's scroll had taken him to the bottom of his heart. That was what his inner darkness looked like. All spikes. Pure white skin, contrasted with black lines pulsing with energy. It opened its mouth and let loose a torrent of white energy.

The young man was too shocked to block right away, and while his instincts made a barrier rise, the mere proximity to the pure light energy the creature had thrown his way had left a burning, tingling sensation all across his body.

With grim resolution, Negi had finally decided that its main element was light. Sure, everything else was decently powerful, but it had absolutely devastating light attacks, he would admit.

He had to end the fight now, since it also seemed to possess unlimited Stamina.

Deciding on what his course of action should be, the young man tagged a spot on the opposite wall to the one the monster was clinging to and flashed in that direction. This would barely give him enough time to punch through the incantation while it was convinced looking for him. Maybe he should have practiced this spell until he could get it off without the incantation, like the Thousand Thunderbolts… but he just hadn't ever thought he'd need to.

Even now, he considered, it was probably one of the very few times it'd ever come in handy.

"Obey the contract, obey me, o queen of the night!" He intoned, as he began to gather his own power. His mana reacted far more easily than it did whenever he used the Thousand Thunderbolts, cascading to where he called it. In every inch of his body, it screamed for release. It screamed to flow into the spell.

The shadows writhed, responded to his call. "Come, everlasting darkness, the eternal night!"

The world lost its light and darkness fell. The room was covered in a thick black blanket.

There was a pull, the force of mana gathering in one place, as the world stopped making sense. Where there had once been a demonic entity of immeasurable strength, aligned with the element of light, was now a tightly compressed ball of inky black stuff. Negi stared at the formed sphere, both anxious and dreading the next moment.

"In the darkness, all things become eternal nothingness."

And the ball of blackness compressed itself into a small dot.

Said dot summarily exploded in an amazing Technicolor display that forced Negi to cover his eyes.

It felt good. It felt good to use that much power at once. It felt good to stir the darkness.

It felt horrible to know that much.

At the very least, it still was as bloody complicated as he remembered it to be. Sure, his body reacted, but his mind didn't ever enter the correct state to utilize the spells of the darkness element. Even if his affinity was second only to Evangeline herself, this spell was a pain in the ass to use.

The spell itself required a good deal of knowledge of gravity magic to work. Most of the high end spells utilize a sub-element to help them do their task, such as Earth with fire to create Lava or Ice with Darkness to create the ring of coldness.

The darkness just happened to rely on gravity to the end of creating a physical space that made absolutely no sense to the laws of nature and could be freely manipulated by its creator. So far, Negi had concluded that this spell was also the basis of the one that the Lifemaker had used to create the alternate plane that housed Mundus Magicus, except in much smaller scale, and the basis in which many of the space-barrier spells were based in.

Which explains why it required knowledge of all of the disciplines that entail creating an alternate plane.

Regardless, now was not the time to dwell on the workings of one single annoying spell.

Negi sighed. The damnable thing was gone. It regenerated as much as he did. Sure, it could barely harm him, even if it struck him dead on, but its light attacks did target Negi's elemental weakness which made them be more annoying than anything else. The problem was that it regenerated just as much as Negi did, though Negi hadn't delivered a brutally lethal blow to check if it'd recover from being smeared against a wall.

He had used a bloodless method of elimination since he wasn't particularly fond of gore flying everywhere.

It still wasn't anywhere near pleasant. He just hoped that the complete destruction of the physical body wouldn't harm whatever it was. He couldn't be too sure what kind of immortality it had…

* * *

**_Guess who's back? Back again! I am back! Tell a friend!  
_**

**_Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's back!  
_**

**_I've created a monster. 'Cuz nobody wants to see Ingrato no more they want DV I'm chopped liver. Well if you want DV this's what I'll give ya. A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor some vodka that will jump start my fic quicker than the shocks when I get shocked at Iridia by the forum when I'm not cooperating, when I'm rocking the table while they are playing Rayman!  
_**

**_You waited this long to see a chapter 'cuz I'm back, I'm on the rack and spewing! Well I know that I've got a job you ladies but this fic's heart problem is complicating!  
_**

**_So the FFC won't let me be or let me be me so let me see: They tried to shut me down on the TV but it feels so empty, without me!  
_**

**_This looks like a job for me so everybody, just follow me, 'cuz we need a little controversy 'cuz it'd feel so empty, without me!_**

**__**In all seriousness... Chapter 30 might take a while...


	30. Week-long Cram Session

**Author's Note To End All Author's Notes:**

Because I'm back, I'm back, I'm really really back, because I'm back, I'm back, I'm really really back!

* * *

"Sinking five hundred airships would prove a hard task even for one like you…"

"I don't like easy tasks."

"That is just as good. The task I will assign you is by its very nature, far harder."

"Interesting…"

* * *

**Darkest Void**

Chapter 30: Conflict Isn't Only Violence

Negi shook his head as he landed on his feet, on the extremely long and thin bridge that separated the library from the tunnel they'd used to get there. His legs failed him for an instant and he almost fell to the floor, but managed to stop himself by going to one knee and using one of his hands to remain standing.

He almost wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Now that he'd had sufficient time to sit around and get an idea of what was going on, he noticed that there was no physical trace of whatever the light being had been anywhere.

It was probably ethereal in nature, then.

He stood up and shook his head, ignoring the faint burning sensation that he felt after using such a ridiculous amount of power at once, then he decided he might as well make his way to the library so he turned around and started to walk…

… Only to meet the people whom he'd accompanied here standing just outside the bridge, all of them rooted to their spot and expressing clear shock.

"What… was that, partner?" Derflinger voiced the unanimous question.

Negi sighed. "Well…"

Louise blinked. "What was that?" She repeated, taking a step forward.

The familiar merely offered her a smile. "That is the most powerful spell in the Darkness system. A weakened, single-target version of it, but still the same spell, more or less." He explained, taking a few steps forward. "Suffice to say, it's not a very pleasant spell to use or be hit with."

"You don't say." Said Julio, dryly.

Agnes raised an eyebrow. "What does it even do? I've never seen magic like that… not even yours." She said, reminding herself that Springfield's magic was not often like her own world's and would thus naturally do the unexpected every once in a while.

"It's a very complicated spell and very dangerous. It's actually rather interesting in that it requires knowledge well beyond what a combat mage would ever learn, since it deals with the more theoretical aspects of magic rather than anything you could learn by practice…"

"Short version." Agnes said, flatly.

"… Basically, I build an alternate plane, flood it with darkness, and then I compress the darkness around the target until I can recreate the effects of the Big Crunch."

"What's the Big Crunch?" Asked Colbert, suddenly perked up by the explanation of magical theory that was well beyond what most people ever bothered to learn.

"The theorized death of the universe once it expands too much and collapses on itself. I would explain more than that, but it would require a very lengthy explanation of the workings of the universe and a variety of teaching aids that I do not have at the moment, not to mention that it would most likely challenge everything that you believe in. Right now, we just don't have the time."

"You know, sometimes, I forget that you once were a teacher…" Louise said, looking positively surprised.

Negi smiled, feeling an overwhelming need to pat Louise's head. Sometimes, she was just adorable.

"Isn't he teaching you how mages from his world make combat?" Eleonore asked, raising an eyebrow and adjusting her glasses. Negi absent mindedly noted that her face was surprisingly flushed.

Maybe they'd run all the way here?

"Yes." Louise admitted. "But that's more torture than training."

Negi chuckled. "That is the regime that I put Montmorency and Guiche through, Louise. Are you saying that you're less capable than them?" Preying on her pride to keep her motivated was a low blow, but Negi was a teacher: Keeping students motivated was an art that required pragmatism and his time teaching 3-A was not wasted.

Louise shook her head frantically. "No! I'm just… saying that you could be nicer…"

Negi laughed, as did everyone else.

It was only then that most people realized something that was starting to bother everyone there.

Negi looked around, seeing that everyone sported heavy blushes and seemed to be looking at him, although Julio was pointedly looking away.

The pinkette of the group gasped and quickly went for one of the pockets in the inner side of her cape (ridiculously useful, that thing) to dig for the artifact that would save them from the current threat.

Negi took an involuntary step back when he noticed Eleonore closing in the distance between them with a face that was halfway between curious and aroused. It was giving him flashbacks and he was not entirely certain about his preference in the matter.

"Oh, for the love of…" Agnes rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Put your glasses on, Springfield." She barked as Louise produced said magical artifact and quickly threw them at Negi. This caused Eleonore to take a step back and blink.

"Wow… you're… really pretty." She said, her breathing fast and shallow.

"Indeed." Colbert agreed. "Please don't remove your glasses in my presence ever again." He added.

Julio chuckled. "See? I told you that a sufficiently attractive person works regardless of gender."

Negi sighed. "Well, at least it's nothing like the Spin The Bottle incident…"

Eleonore and Louise blinked, in perfect unison. "You're explaining that. Right now."

The redhead felt like smacking himself for even mentioning it, right then and there.

* * *

Negi hummed, absent mindedly rubbing his chin as he did. There were many things to do. So much, in fact, that he was actually distracted from dwelling on it.

"Oh, come on, this is ridiculous, he's not even paying attention!" Someone yelled. Negi blinked and realized he was holding off three of the musketeers' blades with one single hand. His eyes quickly scanned his surroundings and locked for mere seconds on the face of each of them, all of which were contorted into the very image of exertion.

It was clear that they were trying their best.

"He doesn't need to because you're doing everything wrong." There was another voice, this one far harsher, colder and commanding. It was also a voice that Negi recognized rather easily. "You should have known, right from the start, that you would not defeat him in a contest of strength!" Agnes barked, folding her hands over her chest.

The three musketeers trying to push Derflinger down let up and took a few steps back, panting as they did.

"You should have taken notice of that and instead worked together to find a way past his defenses. You got complacent because of your superior numbers and in a battle, he could have killed you five times over before you knew it." Agnes berated the three women, glaring at them as she did so. "Pay attention to his movements! His mind is elsewhere, you should have had an easy time finding a hole in his defense but instead you thought you could overpower him for an easy victory."

Her voice had become simply stern rather than the bark of a commander annoyed with incompetent troops by the end. Negi noted that it had to come from having experience teaching a whole bunch of people.

He smiled slightly and then took a few steps forward.

"I'm sorry for not paying attention, I was just lost in thought." He said to the chewed out musketeers. "But what she is saying really is correct. I'm a mage, I can enhance my own physical strength. I'm fairly decent at the use of self-enhancement spells."

The musketeers were an elite unit, supposed to be able to combat mages as well as they could combat normal people. They were supposed to be able to use a variety of weapons, strategy and dirty tactics to overwhelm their opponents who usually had the power advantage on their side. Versatility, adaptability and creativity were their best weapons, really.

These three had gone for what they thought would be an easy, simple victory when they thought they'd had the advantage.

"I could have ended this fight the moment you three rushed in." Negi said.

Agnes nodded, but the three musketeers displayed faces of disbelief. The three of them looked not unlike the people Negi met with back when he was ten, when people simply didn't believe that the plans that would save the Magical World from extinction could come from him. It was kind of nostalgic, really, since by now he was famous and credible enough that most people scoffed at the idea.

The redhead mage brought his hand up. "Iaculatio Fulgoris." He said, as lightning suddenly took shape in the form of heavily ornate spears, floating behind him. He waved his hands down and, in a flash, the spears lodged themselves in the ground. They'd moved fast enough that even an experienced fighter would've had trouble dodging them.

The three musketeers flushed. "We understand, ma'am!" The three of them said, saluting Agnes.

"That's good. You're still doing punishment drills." Agnes said, a cruel smirk on her face.

The three of them discolored at that, looking not unlike a deer facing the headlights of an eighteen wheeler.

Negi chuckled as they dejectedly trudged away.

"Hm… You two are getting along." Negi heard his tiny master's voice. It sounded slightly off, and when he turned around to greet her, he understood why. She had a contemplative expression on her face.

Negi scratched the back of his neck. "Agnes needed me, and who am I to say no to a friend in need?" he asked, smiling.

"He's a perfect training dummy." Agnes admitted.

"Dummy?" Negi pouted at that, causing the other two to laugh.

"You've stepped up their training." Louise noted.

Agnes nodded. "We were getting complacent." She said. "We need to be ready." She added, looking at her musketeers as they went about practicing using the fabled and incredibly useful tactic of 'bringing a gun to a swordfight'. Agnes narrowed her eyes, then outright glared at one of the musketeers, who had missed her shot quite badly. "Hold yourself steady. If you can't properly grip the musket, you will never hit your target. Hold your breath when you take aim."

"Yes, Ma'am!" the woman replied, saluting and proceeding to implement Agnes advice when the musketeers prepared to fire the second volley.

Louise smiled. "You were born to do this."

Agnes smiled slightly, but then shook her head. "What's bothering you?"

"It's going to happen soon, isn't it?" Louise said, her tone slightly sorrowful. "The princess will go to the front. She'll be in mortal danger, every day…" She muttered, looking at the distant sky, beyond the walls of the academy.

"She will leave in seven days." Agnes said, nodding. "I will accompany her directly, as I am her bodyguard, and I will take direct command of the Royal Guard as well as the musketeer squads directly under Her Majesty's command. We will most likely see a lot of deployment in Albion."

Negi, however, simply shook his head. Agnes was intrigued by that reaction to her words, but chose not to further dig into his reasons. "I'll join up with you." The redhead spoke. "We will make one last attempt at diplomacy. We… have to take measures to encourage Albion's surrender to stop as much unnecessary bloodshed as possible."

Louise blinked. "So you're definitely going, then?"

The smile that greeted her was not one of the usual smiles that she had learned signified that he simply wasn't feeling like showing the world the fact that he was conflicted by his actions. She got the feeling that the smile was of the kind that meant that he absolutely loathed what he was doing or what he was about to do.

The question was… WHAT was he about to do? Both curiosity and anxiousness washed over Louise and from a glance, she could tell that Agnes was openly curious about his words and disposition himself.

"If we are lucky, I'll not need to be deployed." Negi assured her, patting her head.

She flushed and sputtered a few protests as he ruffled her hair, moving quickly away from his hand and then glaring at him. He chuckled and then looked at her directly in the eyes for a few seconds before giving her a final, wider smile and turning back to face Agnes.

Louise did not miss the fact that her heart had skipped a beat, and not because of a silly crush or anything of the like, no. There was something about that smile… something about it that simply didn't sit well with her.

"I guess you're fully done here, then?" Negi asked Agnes, who shook her head, frustration evident in her face and posture as she did so.

"My only regret is that I could not discover the name of the man who burned D'Angleterre to the ground." She said, her voice almost a low growl as she did. It was clear that she was still quite bitter.

Negi again shook his head. "Don't talk like that, Agnes." He said. It was clear what he was referring to.

"It's hard to shake off the shackles of the past." She admitted, her voice so low that it was almost a whisper.

"Trust me… I know."

Louise felt left out by that conversation. She pouted as she looked up at the two people who seemed to both have brought each other's mood down so easily. She decided she might as well break the mood. "I'll go with you." She said, glaring at Negi as she did.

The redhead merely sighed and shook his head. "Louise, if you went to war as you are right now… you would die." He informed her. Better to be blunt and to anger her than to let her go off to war half-cocked and with her idealized image of war still on her brain.

"W-What!?" She nearly yelled, gasping as she did.

"What I said." Negi said, shortly. "As you are right now, you would not survive in a warzone. I trained Guiche and Montmorency whenever we had a chance to train, Louise. I trained them very, very hard, because I knew Guiche would have no choice but to go to war. I pushed them as much as I could and I did my best to impress on them the reality of a fight. I broke their bones more times than I can recall and I nearly killed them several times."

"I've trained hard too!" Louise shot back.

"Yes, you have." Negi admitted. "Enough that you could defend yourself from a mage. You've got a lot of power, Louise, and you've got the talent to use it. Your magic is very effective in a war and you could hold your own in a small skirmish. However, this is not about being in a battle, Louise. This is about being in a war. As powerful as you are, you are still an innocent."

Agnes sighed. "No one is really innocent." She retorted, looking at the redhead for a few seconds. "She is much too useful as an asset to not use her. Her magic has proven itself very destructive and it can even destroy magical shields and wards without problem."

The elder mage shook his head. "As we are right now, our advantage in power against Albion is tremendous." He began, looking at their surprised reactions. "We might be treading into their land, which gives them the advantage of knowing the terrain better than we do, but we have superior numbers and they lost their greatest warship in a prior battle, which will most likely have an effect on their morale. We've had nothing but victories in our campaign repelling them from Tristain, as well, which will further diminish their morale. I just hope it's low enough to force them to surrender."

Agnes shook her head. "Albion won't surrender." She spoke, shaking her head. "They are not smart enough to."

Meanwhile, the pinkette was not particularly discouraged. No, in fact, she was only even further encouraged due to this speech. War was not a thing that she wanted to force the princess to go through on her own. It would be difficult, she knew, it'd be grueling even, but she couldn't just leave her childhood friend alone at a time like this.

"I'm going anyway! I don't care if I'm in danger! I won't let the princess face this on her own!" She said, conviction clear in her voice, stamping her foot for emphasis.

Negi looked at her for a few seconds. The magister seemed to be lost in thought. He simply turned away and started walking, ignoring both Agnes and Louise. There was simply too much in his mind at the moment.

* * *

Tabitha had felt him coming from a mile away. In fact, she'd not only felt him coming, she'd heard and seen him too. And when he was close enough, she'd smelled him, as well. "You need a bath." She curtly informed him.

"I do, don't I?" He said, absent mindedly. He also chuckled, as if it were some kind of great in-joke that she wasn't privy to. Regardless, she didn't even twitch as she continued reading her book without a care in the world. "I need a great many things." He concluded.

Tabitha briefly let her eyes rest on the man that needed a bath. The same redhead individual that had gone from a mere nobody, someone thought of as a commoner who'd gone from, in a manner of speaking, rags to royalty in a matter of mere days. He didn't seem all that different from usual.

He had several sets of the outfit he was wearing, as apparently he'd found a tailor who would make his outfits to his specifications with no problem. In truth, she thought he'd looked better in the outfit he'd originally come with, but that was just her opinion.

Maybe it was the lighting (the setting sun did not leave the hallway very lit), or maybe her glasses were just dirty, but Tabitha could have sworn that there was simply something off with him. His body language informed her of such. The smile was just the slightest bit strained.

"Something bothers you." She said, not beating around the bush in the slightest. Then again, she wasn't one for such.

"Yeah." Negi admitted. "I don't know what to do."

Tabitha raised one eyebrow, inquisitively, which he took as an invitation to continue. However, the redhead merely shook his head and looked away.

"How are you?" He asked her.

She understood instantly that it wasn't even a disguised attempt at changing the topic, but she didn't press the issue. After all, if he wanted to talk about it, he surely would have. He trusted her, didn't he? "I'm well." She said, slamming her book shut.

"Ah, that's nice." He said, smiling and sitting down next to her.

"It's okay."

Negi blinked, then looked at her curiously.

She merely looked at him for a few seconds, her expression a cross between slightly bored and slightly more bored. He almost winced when her eyes focused on his.

"... It's nothing important, really." He said, waving his hand, as if willing the problem to dissipate. His smile was still as forced as ever, though. "It's just that I feel like a hypocrite."

"Are you?" Tabitha asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I told Louise she's not ready for war. And she's not." Negi explained, letting himself drop the pretense of cheer. It was pointless, by then. "Neither am I. No one is ever ready for it…" He said, sighing. "I've seen combat. I've been overwhelmed and almost killed more times than I can count. I have faced impossible odds and triumphed. I've killed. And… I was never ready for any of those things. It feels hypocritical of me to deny her when I did the exact same things she is trying to do. Do I have the right to deny her will to join the war effort?"

The blue haired girl stopped paying any attention to her book. "You want to protect her." She said, blunt and unmitigated as ever. This caused a weird smile to come up in his face. "That's not wrong." She concluded.

"… There were many willing to protect me. To fight for me. To risk their lives to safeguard mine." He said, a nostalgic tone to his voice that Tabitha did not miss. "I couldn't just stand by and watch them suffer so I didn't have to. I know how much it hurts to see that…"

Tabitha looked at odds at that point. "It does." She admitted. He absent mindedly noted the wince that coursed through her right then and there. "I… understand. Even so…"

There was a gust of wind and a blue, slightly blurred form descended from the sky. It was large, though if Negi had to guess, it was actually smaller than most of the dragons he'd met so far, and decidedly less threatening, if he had to go from just the fact that it seemed to be anything but angry.

Maybe simply not being raised for war did that.

"Hi, Sylphid." Negi said, smiling.

The dragon let out a cry and seemed to do what would have passed as a grin before looking pointedly at Tabitha. "No food until dinner." She said, prompting the dragon to let out a loud whine at being denied her food. All of its attempts to convince Tabitha to feed it only managed to make Negi laugh at how creative Tabitha could be to shoot them down.

Also, he found himself in wonder of Tabitha's ability to decipher what her dragon might be saying just by its cries.

Neither Tabitha nor him noticed a voluptuous figure observing them.

* * *

Eleonore already knew that Louise was clingy in her sleep, and she knew that Louise liked to sleep with her familiar. This wasn't a very well kept secret, all things considered. She also knew that this was her one chance at averting a tragedy, so she disregarded the possibility that this might be thought of by some as, to put it in the colloquial speech, a bitch move.

She opened the door almost silently, making the least noise she could as she took three steps inside the darkened room. Extricating Louise from her position would be complicated, but not impossible. She'd done far more difficult things. Precision magic was her thing.

She tapped the rope she'd brought with her wand, and watched it levitate away from her hand, coiling itself above Louise, as she pondered how best to take Louise away without waking up either of the pair. There was no doubt in her mind that alerting Springfield was something astronomically stupid when trying to prevent Louise from doing something stupid like this.

She wasn't entirely certain where he stood in this matter, and she was above simply asking him. And it was NOT because she couldn't stop thinking about a certain wet dream of hers every time he so much as smiled in her presence. Given he was pretty much constantly smiling, her life was getting harder by the second.

"I could wake both of them up anytime now." Came a sudden metallic voice in a whisper, startling Eleonore almost enough to lose control of the coil of rope floating above her little sister and her familiar. She would've gasped, but she was too controlled to do something that would give her up so easily.

It was… that talking sword. She sighed in relief, glad that it was only that and not some insane magical ward placed on the room. After all, she'd come to assume the impossible out of Louise and her familiar after Louise first introduced them.

"Sh!" She commanded, glaring through her glasses at the sword that she couldn't see.

The sword would've laughed if that wouldn't have interrupted Louise's sleep. A cranky Louise is something nobody wants to deal with. Unless you're into that sort of thing, anyway. "I'm doing this for her own good!" She said sharply, turning back to the coil of rope… only to find Louise hugging a pillow as if her life depended on it and a shirtless Negi sitting in the bed.

"Did I wake you up, partner?" Derflinger asked.

"I don't sleep, I wait." Negi stated, rubbing at his eyes and trying to blink the sleep away from them. I'm not gonna call you out on quoting the Chuck Norris facts, Negi, just this once.

For some reason, Eleonore felt the need to giggle at how silly the statement sounded, coming from him. The blond Valliere wanted to run, at that point, but it'd be pointless. So she just began to walk away with as much dignity as possible, knowing he'd follow. She just hoped he would throw on a shirt or something.

That was bloody indecent.

Once they were properly alone in the hallway, and he had covered his upper chest, she began to explain the reason why she had decided to visit during the night. "This little idiot wants to join the war effort!" She began, a hissed whisper that would've passed for a silent scream.

Negi sighed. "I know." He said. "I… don't know if I should allow her to or not." The redhead added, frowning as he did. He turned around and glared at a wall. "I have no right to deny her the dream of protecting Henrietta." His brows knit together.

"She's still too young! She can't even do real magic, all she can do is explosions!"

Negi smiled grimly. "Yes, she can do explosions. Explosions that destroy anything they touch. Explosions that rip right through magical barriers." Negi informed her, dryly. "She also has enough raw talent, knowledge and practice to pull off a complex spell on her first attempt. In my hometown, she'd be called a genius."

Eleonore raised an eyebrow. "I can't believe that!" She said, glaring at the redhead.

Turning around, the magister locked his gaze with hers for a few moment. Then he let himself laugh slightly. "I'm not lying to you." He said. "Louise studied her hardest. Her theoretical knowledge of magic challenges the teachers' own and she's actually very driven when it comes to her training. She has all the qualities of a genius."

"Then why can't she execute even the simplest of spells, if she has all of that?" Eleonore snapped.

"I don't know, truly." Negi retorted, his eyes locking with hers once again. "She has the power. She has the skill. She has the ability. I don't know why everything she does turns into an explosion… But I've discovered that it depends on what spell she uses. Every single one of her spells explodes. There is no exception to this rule. However… The spell's effects are conducted normally before it explodes. An unlocking spell would unlock a door… and then it'd blow it up. A spell designed to interweave raw wind and lightning mana into a concentrated storm would do exactly that, and once it hits its target, it'd explode. Or so far, that's where my observations have gone."

He did not want to repeat the Exarmatio experiment.

Eleonore blinked. "So… her magic really does work?" She asked, tentatively. "We've tested every way we could. Tried different foci, spells and even rituals, and nothing worked to let her magic go off as intended, so why…"

"Have any of you ever noticed that the majority of Louise's explosions don't create fire?" He asked.

Eleonore blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"When her Fireball spell exploded, it was a fiery explosion. There were burns on the tree she destroyed with it. Likewise, when I had her try to use a water spell, the grass she exploded was wet. Whatever is interfering with her magic only does so with the ultimate result. The spell goes off as intended and then it explodes. When she intentionally explodes something by simply forcing her mana without giving it a purpose… There's nothing to indicate anything but concussive force. And if she uses the actual spell she knows that explicitly causes things to explode, there is nothing left of whatever is destroyed."

"It doesn't make sense." Eleonore quickly replied. "If she executed the spell perfectly, there's no way that it could suddenly explode unless she subconsciously did it herself. Even if she had an opposing affinity to the element she is trying to use, she would still be able to use spells at a reduced potency." She said, shaking her head. "So it must be a problem with Louise that goes beyond simple affinities."

The magister chuckled. "That's thinking with a limited spectrum of elements."

Eleonore raised an eyebrow, willing him to continue.

"The elements you use are rather limited and although composites exist, such as Lightning and Ice for starters, you don't truly treat them as their own elements. I will admit that our magical systems are wildly different, and I do not know enough about yours as of yet to truly discern why this is so and my ideas are still too far from the theoretical stage."

Eleonore huffed. "The similarities and differences of our systems would be far easier to compare if I had access to knowledge about how your magic works. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before." Then again, he was the source of many things he hadn't seen before. "I will admit that the topic is interesting, however, we are digressing."

For a moment, Negi had forgotten he was dealing with a noblewoman raised all her life to perform the tasks of one. Namely, politics. He was not certain how close to the middle ages Tristain truly was, culture-wise, but it seemed that its treatment of women, at least of those women with access to nobility, seemed to be wildly different from what he'd expected a society as this to be.

"I can't allow her to go to war." Eleonore said.

Negi let out a long, suffering sigh. "I will think of something. If worst comes to worst… I will do what I must."

Eleonore seemed surprised, both by the solemn tone of his words and because he had actually not complained even a bit about her insistence. That seemed to be a recurring complaint amongst the people her father chose as possible marriage candidates.

"You have my word as King Negius Springfieldes Entheophysia of Vespertatia that I will not let any harm come to Louise. I swear it on the name of my father, my mother and the noble house Entheophysia." He didn't truly remember how the actual swear went, so he was winging it. He did not, however, fail to insert conviction into his every word.

The blonde was taken aback, and it must have shown, because he even nodded to reassure her. "K-King!?"

"I am many things." Negi said. "Technically, I am but the crown prince to Vespertatia, as I was never crowned due to a variety of incidents that would take too long to explain and would be, in the end, unnecessary at this moment." And quite redundant, as well, as I've mentioned them before, he neglected to add.

"We should probably discuss further, when we have the time, because there are many things that deserve an explanation."

Negi finally smiled. "There are, aren't there? It will have to be another day, as I have an appointment with Colbert at sunrise, and sunrise is almost upon us." He said, passing her. "Maybe you could keep the fact that this conversation ever happened a secret? I'm bad at keeping those, but maybe you can do a better job, ne?"

He didn't know why he added that last bit. He just felt like doing it. Maybe it was in remembrance of the person he'd just based that phrase on. After all, Chao, his own descendant, had taught him a great many things. Even now, her lessons continued to help him.

As he walked down the halls that lead outside, he wondered if Chao could have predicted something like what was happening now. She had certainly correctly guessed just about everything that happened during his trip to the magic world, more or less. She had knowledge from the future, didn't she?

He wondered if he'd ever see her again, now. Would she be born in this timeline? He had no doubt that he'd be able to prevent the war torn future she claimed she came from, yet… Wouldn't it be paradoxical?

Time travel hurts the mind, he said, as he reached his first right turn of the day.

Well, it's always best to start with the right foot, right?

* * *

"So, what you want, is for me to lend you my lab for today." Colbert said, raising an eyebrow. Then he smiled widely. "You're free to take it! I just wish to see what you can come up with after an entire day of brainstorming."

Negi grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… I might actually need it for the entire week. And you might not want to know what I'm working on. I have many things to work on, actually…"

"Oi, partner, just tell him already." Derflinger called from his back.

Colbert raised one eyebrow. "It's probably a combat spell…" He muttered, sounding defeated.

"The most terrible of its kind." Negi admitted, sounding conflicted. "I'm hoping that a display of it will be enough to cow the Albion forces into surrender as quickly as possible with the least number of casualties on either side." He felt like a scumbag, but if this was what was required to crush the last vestiges of Albion's morale and stop this war… He'd have to create a magical equivalent of the H-bomb. "Don't worry about other people being able to use it. I don't plan on teaching it to anyone else, and from what rough sketches I have in my mind of how it could possibly work, it'd be pretty much impossible to use for anyone else anyway."

Colbert let out a long breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Please use your power responsibly. There is no telling what kind of disastrous weapon someone like you could create if you were given enough time alone."

Negi blushed slightly.

"Partner's not going to be alone!" Derflinger cried, its tone of mirth as it did. Sometimes, Negi wondered if the sword found more amusement in making its wielder's life as complicated as possible than it did in combat. Nah. Derflinger admitted that it loved being used as a weapon.

"I'm ashamed to admit it, but I kind of get engrossed in my research and tend to neglect certain… activities." He said. "Once, I forgot to eat or sleep for two days." He admitted, sheepishly. "My friend Anya had to drag me to the kitchen because I couldn't even walk straight." He continued, earning a chuckle from Colbert.

"Ah! Negi! I'm sorry I'm late, but my fingers were dumb and I couldn't put my uniform right!" There was a distinctly familiar voice coming from afar, as the maid that had hanged around the young magister the most came barreling into the scene, almost tripping as she ran to the small cottage that was Colbert's lab. She panted when she arrived. "Hello, professor Colbert." She said, before returning to the job of recovering her breath.

Colbert felt a drop of sweat run down the back of his head. "Please don't do anything indecent in my lab." He said, looking not unlike a man who just discovered his car was used by his teenage son as a motel.

"I can't promise anything." Negi said, offering Colbert a rueful grin. "I'm weak."

Siesta smiled, oblivious to the two's exchange, as she opened the door…

… And instantly closed it again. "This place is a mess."

Colbert and Negi nodded. "It may look like one, but I can assure you, it's a controlled chaos." The professor spoke, conviction in his voice. "Feel free to rearrange it, just tell me where you left everything later." He said to the maid, who, looking like she was only slightly annoyed, went to work on the messy laboratory.

Colbert and Negi were then left alone.

"If you need me, I'll be going over Tabitha's notes of what we have learned so far from the Dragon's Raiment." The man said. "Well, when I'm not giving classes, at any rate."

"Inform me if you have trouble with reproducing the motor. Mechanics is not my best subject by far, but two minds are always better than one, at any rate." Negi said, a serious expression in his face.

Colbert offered his hand, which Negi took and shook firmly. "Do clean up after yourselves…"

Negi pouted at that. Leaving a mess was not the gentlemanly thing to do.

Colbert went away, a laugh in his voice and a spring in his step that hadn't been there earlier.

* * *

Welcome to the Konoka Morning Show! And now, the most wonderful girl on television, with 7 Grammies, 9 Oscars, 3 Academy Awards, and the first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model NOT to wear a swimsuit, your friend and mine, the wonderful, the lovely, the completely dyke, please welcome... Konoka!

Konoka smiled. "Good morning everyone! Welcome to the show. Here today we have a very special guest. She's well-known for her leading role in the hit series Unequally Rational and Emotional, and highly praised for her layered, moving portrayal in Takamachi Nanoha of 2814, let's all give a very warm round of applause to our very special guest this morning, Hasegawa Chisame!"

Chisame blinked and looked at her. "Konoka, who are you talking to?" Konoka laughed lightly.

"Ah, Chisame-san, your wit is as usual legendary. We thank you for finding time in your busy schedule making love to Negi-sensei and Matoi-san, not to mention your highly-acclaimed character arc in the 2814 series to be with us today. I'm sure our audience is glad to, right folks?" Konoka paused as if expecting applause, smiling brightly.

A confused Chisame looked at where she was smiling. "Konoka, there's nothing there but a blank wall. Seriously, I thought you invited me for breakfast to study for a test?"

Konoka giggled in an almost adorable, almost perverted manner. "Oh, you jester you." she said, muffling the last few of her giggles with her long sleeve. "Before we proceed to the interview, let me introduce you to our most respected executive producer, Lord Mendasuit-sama, who finances our show from the kindness of his heart! A wave of applause, everyone!"

Chisame looked around and saw absolutely noone come in nor did she see anything happen.

It's my pleasure, Konoka-chan!

"What was that?" Chisame asked, alarmed. She hadn't just heard something, no. Something had made the words exist in her head. Almost like telepathy, but not.

"Lord Mendasuit-sama wishes all of you well!" The white mage informed her audience, before rounding up on Chisame. "Now, I'm sure we've all got questions for our special guest, but you will have to wait to get yours answered, as we're going by list!"

Then, from one of the borders of a screen, the head of a certain teenaged girl popped out of nowhere. "Uhm... Kono-chan..."

"What is it, Setchan?" Konoka asked, turning around to offer her ever helpful, if bumbling, producer a smile that made her go weak at the knees. Konoka watched, intrigued, as Setsuna stepped past her, her eyes trailing the backside that was revealed by the suit that was perfectly tailored to show her off, clinging to every right place.

Setsuna bowed to the blank wall. "Due to certain technical difficulties, we've been unable to properly inform our audience about this show in advance, so we couldn't get them to send their question. Please accept our apologies for failing to deliver on our first chance to do so!"

Konoka gasped. "But what is this show if we don't get to have interaction with our audience?"

"Seriously, there is nobody there!" Chisame yelled.

"There won't be one for long if we can't even do this much." Konoka said, rubbing her chin. "We'll have to improvise something to keep our ratings up..." She said, rubbing her chin. "Ah?" Then she turned around and tapped her ear, tuning out her producer's chain of apologies before smiling widely again. "Ah, well, we have green light from Lord Mendasuit-sama to wing it! Since today we have no queries from our audience to present to our honored guest, we'll have to make up our own entertainment for the time being!"

Setsuna looked very apologetic as she continued to bow towards the blank wall, offering later reparations as she did.

Chisame and Setsuna looked both very stunned when Konoka suddenly flushed red. "Ah? But... isn't that... it isn't? Oh! That's cool, then!" She said, letting go of her ear. "Setchan!" She said, smiling brightly. For Setsuna, the world was just a little bit brighter at that moment, the birds were singing, the rivers were flowing and everything in the world was right, because Konoka was smiling. However, at that point, her smile turned slightly mischievous, slightly perverted and very, very scary.

Setsuna didn't even get a chance to scream before Konoka pounced on her.

Chisame blinked. "Seriously? You're gonna resort to porn to keep your ratings up? Wait, what the hell am I talking about?" Chisame said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at the blank wall. Then she looked at the sheet of paper that Konoka had dropped when she'd pounced at Setsuna (and whom she was now chasing around the room) and decided she might as well read it. "Huh? What does this mean?"

Konoka stopped abruptly and suddenly appeared next to Chisame. "Good idea, Chisame! It's better if we inform our audience now so that they might remember the next time! We here at Konoka's Morning Show would like to remind everyone that if you've got a question you want answered, we are willing to force Chisame to answer your question for you! Just submit it in a review and it will be delivered to us by our magnanimous benefactor, Lord Mendasuit-sama!"

"Who is this Lord Mendasuit guy, anyway?!" Chisame asked, glaring at Konoka.

"And now, back to the lesbian porn!"

Setsuna gulped and tried to inch away from Konoka, whose giggles were starting to unnerve both of the other teenagers.

* * *

Special thanks to Shadow Crystal Mage, for being awesome and helping me write that omake. He came up with the idea and wrote the introduction for the show, Konoka and Chisame. And to OverMaster, writer of URAE, for being willing to throw in his answers if they involve URAE.


End file.
